Research On Criminal Witness System

Eyewitness participates in criminal detection, seeing and hearing the investigator implementing inquest, inspection, search, seizure and other acts. On the one hand, eyewitness supervise investigator to use power, on the other hand prove the legality of investigative acts and finally achieve the justice of program. However, in our country’s judicial practice, investigators select eyewitness with a lot of randomness,"signed or stamps" becomes the only value which eyewitness existed, eyewitness gradually degenerated into "the tool which signed or stamps", eyewitness cannot supervise the investigation, and eyewitness criminal justice system also cannot realize the value of the program. The newly revised "Law of Criminal Procedure" has not completed the construction and perfection of Criminal Witness System.As same as before, The new Code of Criminal Procedure does not specify the qualifications of criminal eyewitness, legal status, rights and obligations. This article is no longer treat criminal eyewitness as a technical problem, but to be systematic research as a basic institution of criminal proceedings. The article bases on our country’s judicial present situation, discusses the question of this system existence, analysis the causes of these problems, and make recommendations based on the experience of other countries. This article is divided into four parts:In the first part, the author discusses the core concept of "eyewitness" and "eyewitness behavior"firstly. Clarify the concept and the legal status of eyewitnesses, combed about witness legal status theory, and pointed out eyewitnesses are participants of criminal proceedings,while discriminate similar concepts.Next,clear eyewitness connotation and pointed out that the eyewitness should be given the legal validity. Finally, the author analysis functions and values of Criminal Eyewitness System. The second part focuses on the problems and causes of criminal eyewitness system.Rough legislation led to arbitrary practices, and led to the following questions: unclear witnesses legal status, rights and obligations, unreasonable witness range, invalid witness behavior and so on. Based on the above issues, the author analysis the causes of the problem from the power, the judicial system, the purpose of criminal proceedings, legal traditions and other aspects. The third part describes three other countries’eyewitness modes. Through a comparative analysis of the three modes, this part described features advantages and disadvantages of different modes. Finally, We should learn from Russia’s testimony mode to build our country’s criminal eyewitness system. On the basis of the above, the last part of the article gives some specific advises in the following areas:criminal eyewitness subject, content and procedures of eyewitness and eyewitness potency.