A Study Of Legal Regulations Of The Witnesses’ Withdrawing Evidence Already Offered In Criminal Cases

Chinese people have an increasingly higher demand for the work of criminal judicature,while the witnesses’ withdrawing their confession or the evidence they’ve already offered is seen frequently in the criminal judicial practice in China, which severely obstructs the normal criminal proceedings. Therefore, there is great practical significance in the study of legal regulations of the witnesses’ withdrawing confession or the evidence they’ve already offered in criminal cases. A set of comprehensive and perfect legal regulations aiming at adjusting witnesses’ behavior of withdrawing their confession or the evidence they’ve already offered may help prevent the above mentioned behaviors, facilitate witnesses’ truthful testimony, ensure the smooth progress of the criminal proceedings, establish the judicial authority and enhance Chinese citizens’ legal awareness and beliefs.This paper is divided into three parts, namely the Introduction, main body which consists of four chapters, and Conclusion. The Introduction depicts the background and significance of the study, the literature review of the previous studies, the content and focus of the paper and the research methods. Chapter One analyzes the causes and harmful effects of witnesses’ withdrawing confession and evidences in criminal cases, and furthers the study by analyzing the meaning of the witnesses’ behaviors of withdrawing confession and evidence and their characteristics, categories and current situation. Chapter Two discusses the current existing legal regulations concerning witnesses’ withdrawing confession and evidence in criminal cases, focusing on perjury and crime of shielding, and then expounds practical approaches to the above mentioned problems, and at the same time, points out the existing problems in current legal regulations. Chapter Three makes a comparative study of witnesses’ withdrawing confession and evidence in criminal cases, which studies the different provisions concerning the subjective content, procedures of taking the oath and the corrections of false statements by comparing the relevant legal regulations in Germany and the United States of America. Chapter Four puts forward legislative proposals for regulating witnesses’ behaviors of withdrawing confession and evidence in criminal cases, including standardizing the legal language, strengthening the regulations of witnesses’ taking the oath,clarifying the legal regulations of withdrawing confession and evidence with good intention,expanding the range of criminal regulations concerning the above mentioned cases moderately,increasing financial penalty for withdrawing confession and evidence, establishing bad credit record system of withdrawing confession and evidence, and clarifying the grounds for exemption,etc. The Conclusion makes a summary for this paper.