Is challenging testimony a new duty of the accused?

Abstract

The article discusses the possibility of the court, provided for in paragraph 5 of Part 2 of Article 281 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, to make a decision on the disclosure of the testimony of witnesses and victims. This problem is investigated by the authors in the context of the fact that the parties should be given the opportunity to protect their interests by all means not prohibited by law, including challenging the read testimony and petitions for their verification with the help of other evidence, as well as by using other means that contribute to the prevention, detection and elimination of errors in court decisions. Based on the study of judicial practice, the authors consider the question of what is meant by the defendant's ability to challenge the testimony of a person testifying against him in ways not prohibited by law and whether it matters what position the defense takes on this issue. The article gives a critical assessment of the approach to solving this issue that has developed in law enforcement practice, which, in essence, "obliges" the defense party to file a petition for a confrontation in case of disagreement with the testimony of a witness. It is noted that this approach is obviously incorrect, and this position is justified. The authors come to the conclusion that depriving the defendant of the right to interrogate the participant showing against him is depriving him of the opportunity to demonstrate to the court the inconsistency of the testimony given by the victim or witness, which can become the key evidence underlying the court's conviction against the defendant. The authors of the article consider correct the position in which the court takes into account the non-confrontation between the accused and the victim, the witness at the stage of preliminary investigation as a circumstance preventing the disclosure of testimony, taking into account the position of the defense. The article evaluates proposals to improve the norms of criminal procedure legislation, taking into account the balance of interests of the parties.