| The criminal procedure law,which was amended in 2012,and the “three regulations” of the supreme people's court,which came into force on Jan 1,2018,both stipulate the system of mandatory witnesses to testify in court.The implementation of this system is of great significance to improve the rate of witnesses appearing in court and the impartiality of trial results.The system of compulsory witness appearance in court refers to that when the witness receives the notice of court appearance for testimony and the witness does not appear in court without justifiable reasons,the court can force the witness to appear in court,except for the close relatives of the defendant.When a witness refuses to appear in court without justified reasons or refuses to give evidence after the court appearance,he shall be subject to certain punishment.At present the,the low rate of witness appearance and the insufficient protection of witness rights have made in court testifying continuously grow into one of the major problems in criminal proceedings in China.Whether in the legislative provisions or in the practice of judicial practice,the low rate of witness appearance and the insufficient protection of witness rights can be obstacles to the advancement of Witnesses Testimony System.The testimony of a witness in court can ensure the authenticity of the testimony,thereby the facts of the case may be smoothly identified,the quality of the trial may be improved,and the contradiction between the facts of the case and other evidence may be eliminated.Thereby,the purpose of reducing the use of written testimony may be realized.The witness' s testifying in court can not only ensure the correctness of witness' s testimony,but also prevent the injustice of judgment.Therefore,for the witnesses who should appear in court but do not appear in court,it is necessary to require them to testify in court compulsively.First of all,the compulsory witness to appear in court is an important guarantee to discover the facts of the case.Secondly,it is necessary to force the witness to appear in court to protect the defendant's right of cross-examination.Finally,forcing witnesses to appear in court can truly implement the principle of open trial.Whether it is the revision of the new criminal procedure law,the reform of the litigation system centering on trial,or the “three procedures”,the system of compulsory witnesses to testify in court has been stipulated.However,these legislative provisions are still imperfect.For example: the decision of witnesses to testify in court which made by the judge is too harsh;It is one-sided to require witnesses to testify compulsively;In judicial practice,the effect of forcing witnesses to appear in court is not perfect.The exception of forcing witnesses to appear in court is in an embarrassing situation in judicial practice.The Mandatory Witness Testimony System in East Asia and Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan regions is relatively perfect compared to the Mandatory Witness Testimony System in China Mainland.The following five aspects of criminal proceedings contain values that China Mainland can learn from.They are,witness qualification,witness summons,refusal right,witness protection and witness compensation.Criminal witnesses in China Mainland are often reluctant to appear in court during the most critical time.In order to reduce the occurrence of this phenomenon,China Criminal Procedure Law has increased the Mandatory Witness Testimony System.Under the background of the reform of the trial-centered criminal litigation system,in order to substantialize the trial,it is necessary to enforce Mandatory Witness Testimony System.In order to implement the system better,the following aspects should be noted,first,the conditions of mandatory witness testimony should be clarified.Secondly,strengthen and enforce the punishments of non-appearance of witnesses.Thirdly,the sanctions and consequences of witnesses not appearing in court should be emphasized.Finally,rules of hearsay evidence should be established. |
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