Discussion Of The Witness System In Civil Procedural Law

Witness testimony is a form of legal evidence in civil actions. The witness is, thereby, the objective carrier of this form of legal evidence. The involvement of witnesses in trials of civil law cases, the delivery of their perception of facts to the court and the undertaking of cross-examination called by parties not only ensure the confirmation of allegation of facts in civil cases, but also guarantee the impartial process of civil litigation procedure.The over-general and impractical definitions of competency of witness, the witness'rights and responsibilities and attest proceedings, which are described in the civil procedure law along with its relevant laws and in the executive interpretations of the laws, have frequently caused phenomena such as witnesses refusing to attest or perjury in civil litigations, which in turn undermine the justice of judgment in civil trials and harm legal rights of participating parties.The reform of the witness system in civil litigation must take place immediately. Only by establishing a witness system that suits the conditions of China, the justice and efficiency in the civil litigation procedure, the affirmation of rights and interests of participating parties and witnesses and achievement of genuine social stability can be ensured.This thesis first investigates and discusses the issues concerning the meaning, scope of definition, and nature of witness, thereby clarifying the meaning and extension of witness in civil litigation of China and the importance of witness system in the civil litigation procedure.Second, this thesis analyzes the legal basis of witness attesting, explaining the necessity of the inclusion of witness into civil litigation procedure, demonstrating the justification of witness attesting in civil litigation.Third, this thesis introduces and compares the civil litigation witness system between the two major legal systems from a comparative law point of view, analyzing the differences and the reasons of why these differences arise.Fourth, by introducing the current state of China's witness system in civil litigation, this thesis examines the deficiency of it from the aspects of legislation, execution and witness, pointing out the causes of witness not attesting and perjury.Last, building on the detailed analysis of the negative effects caused by the inefficient witness system in civil litigation in China, this thesis introduces guidelines of reform for constructing the witness system that suits the conditions of China, clarifying legal liability and relevant sanctions of witness attesting, affirming the legal rights and interests witnesses have.