Депонирование показаний потерпевшего и свидетеля в уголовном процессе Кыргызской Республики

Abstract

The deposition of victim and witness testimony is a new institution for the criminal procedure of the Kyrgyz Repub lic, introduced only in 2021. The authors analyze the conceptual foundations of this institution and its significance for a trial. They compare its legal model under Kyrgyz legislation with the legislation of the Federal Republic of Germany and a number of former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Moldova, Estonia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and the draft of the new Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia. The authors suggest that the importance of deposition lies in the proactive preservation and legalization of the victim and witness testimony obtained during the pre-trial proceedings of the court session («minitrial») as an evidence. One of the main advantages of deposition of testimony according to the authors is giving the defense team a right to apply to the court with a petition for deposition and participate in that procedure independently from the prosecution. Deposition warrants the possibility of testimony disclosure in court proceedings and its use as an evidence providing ground for a court verdict. The introduction of this institution is aimed at strengthening the adversarial principle and the principle of equality of parties, as well as benefits the speedy delivery of justice.