Study On Problems And Solutions Of The Criminal Witness System In China

In criminal procedure,the principle of direct hearing is shown only when witnesses are able to testify and face cross-examination at the court,which would help to maintain judicial fairness.China built the long-time missing system of forcing witness to appear in court in accordance with the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law in 2012.Although the system of forcing witness attend the court was regulated at the legislative level,it has not been implemented properly in practice,since the law is incomplete.The rate of the court-appearing by the witnesses in China is still very low over the five-year period after the amendment was implemented.There are many reasons behind the phenomenon.The system has not yet been accepted as a legal concept due to the slow progress of China's lawmaking;The mutual-concealing of the relatives in Confucianism culture makes Chinese people naturally afraid to identity others' criminal behavior;The trial heavily relies on files transcripts so that the witnesses are taken lightly;The most important reason is that the legislation are deficient,especially the guarantee mechanism for witnesses,which cannot fundamentally make them to dispel the worries over showing up at the court.Comparing to other countries and regions,China still has space to reform the procedure and the legislative foundation of the guarantee system,which composes of compensation and protection.In term of compensation to the witness,a complete procedure needs to be enacted,clearly stating how to apply,category and inspect under the system.The protection on witness should not limit within four major cases,which shall also apply on broader people,cases and time period.Those are very necessary to alter the status of witnesses having reluctance to appear at the court in criminal lawsuits.