Research On Criminal Witness Appearing In Court

Witnesses are important participants in the criminal proceedings.Witness testimony is a criminal evidence that plays an irreplaceable role in criminal trials.With the further judicial reform in China,the criminal trial method has gradually shifted to the prosecution-defense direction.Under the prosecution-defense model,witnesses must accept the cross-examination of the prosecution and the defense,so that the judge can make a better judgement credibility and authenticity of the witness testimony from a neutral perspective.The establishment of criminal witness testimony system is an inherent requirement of the principles of direct speech and the rule of hearsay evidence.It helps judges to ascertain the facts of the case,thus ensuring judicial fairness is also the basic guarantee for the defendants' right to challenge.Chinese Criminal Procedure Law in 2012 established the system of criminal witnesses to testify in court,and gradually changed the traditional litigation model of “focusing on the entity and lightening the procedure”.This is a major advancement of judicial reform in the criminal litigation field.However,because the provisions of the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law on the system of criminal witnesses appearing in court are still somewhat vague and lack of practicality,so far the system has not played the legislator's intents to achieve the effect.Based on this status quo,this thesis adopts logical analysis and comparative analysis as the main research methods.It discusses the rationality and necessity of the system of witnesses appearing in court in theory and practice.And as intrinsic requirement of the principles of direct speech and hearsay evidence,the system has played a role in promoting Chinese judicial environment and reforming in trials.Therefore,the establishment of a system for the appearance of criminal witnesses in China is in line with historical trends and the current judicial needs of human society.In addition,the research and analysis of legislation in other countries outside the region and in some parts of China is also an indispensable part.This article lists the current qualifications of witnesses in the advanced and mature legal countries in the Anglo-American legal system and civil law system,the provisions of refusing testify in court and witness protection systems and economic compensation systems,trying to find valuable aspects that can be used for reference in our country and find effective ways and methods to improve the system of criminal witness appearing in court in China.However,the actual implementation of the criminal witness appearance in the court system is inconsistent with the original intention or the ideal state of the legislative design,and it is somewhat disappointing.Due to various reasons of legislation,judiciary,and social-cultural aspects,the system of criminal witnesses appearing in court has a relatively low degree of implementation in the judicial practice,making the system to be shelved and unable to exert its due value.Therefore,based on the actual conditions in China and drawing on the excellent legislation of foreign countries,the author put forward some proposals and ideas about improving the scope of witnesses,forcing witnesses to testify,establishing the right to refuse testimony and promoting witness protection systems and economic compensation systems,aiming at making valuable contribution on the system of Chinese criminal witnesses appearing in court.