On Direct Speech Principle

The Principle of Directness and Verbalism is the combination of the Principle of Directness and the Principle of Verbalism, in which the former emphasizes the direct experience of judges as well as original evidence, while the latter stresses verbal form in the trial. Both of the two principles require all the parties should appear in court, and the judgment of judges should base on court investigation and debate. As the development of democracy and human rights, the Principle of Directness and Verbalism is established in civil law countries at large, however, this criminal trial principle shares similarities as well as differences with the Hearsay Rule in common law. With its crucial procedural value, the Principle of Directness and Verbalism will promote reality truthfulness, process just and procedural efficiency. Important in the system of criminal trial principles, the Principle is the core principle in criminal trial stage and the basis of the Public Trial Principle, Combined Trial Principle and Debating Principle. The foundation of the establishment of the Principle in our country lies in our reality, legislation and theories. Our current criminal procedural system is far from perfect in the aspect of the Principle of Directness and Verbalism, which is reflected in the following phenomena: putting the cart before the horse in pre-trial inspection, testifier refusing to appear in court and judges restricted with its right of free judgment. Therefore, the Principle of Directness and Verbalism should be firstly proclaimed in writing as our basic criminal trial principle. Then, corresponding provisions should be perfected for the realization of the principle, such as the disclosure of evidence before trial, the appearance of testifiers in court, the reform of trial committee and the reform of the appointment of judges, etc.