Implementation of the Provisions of International Acts on the Interrogation of Defense Witnesses in Court in Russian Law

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Problem statement. The right to a fair trial within a reasonable time by an independent, impartial and competent court, in compliance with the fundamental principles of criminal proceedings established by international treaties and national legal acts, is pivotal in the legal status of the individual. As judicial practice shows, in criminal proceedings, the implementation of this right largely depends on individual judicial regulation when deciding on satisfaction/refusal to satisfy the request for questioning in court of a defense witness. The significance of the testimony of a witness confirming the defendant’s alibi or other circumstances testifying to his innocence or the presence of mitigating circumstances actualizes theoretical and applied (based on the analysis of judicial practice) studies devoted to the interrogation of a defense witness during the judicial investigation of a criminal case. Purpose of the work: to identify methodological and organizational and legal problems of summoning and questioning a witness at a court session, to determine the role and aisles of individual judicial regulation when making a decision on a petition for summoning a witness submitted by the defense party. Results. The importance of questioning a defense witness at a court hearing to ensure its publicity, immediacy and verbality is obvious. The interrogation also ensures the proper procedural regime of proof and the operation of the principles of adversarial, presumption of innocence and the right of the accused to defense. Recommendations and other provisions of judicial bodies regarding the summoning and interrogation of witnesses should be evaluated on the basis of the principles of justice enshrined in Russian law, while individual judicial regulation in resolving a specific petition for summoning a witness should be formed on the basis of recognition of the significance of the testimony of this participant, their possible impact on the outcome of the trial, and also provided, when necessary, technical capabilities of video conferencing and web conferencing.