Truthful Testimony Research Articles

Resolving lawsuits with a decisive oath: An economic analysis

The decisive oath is an interesting but little-known element in some legal proceedings, mostly in civil law traditions. It is different from ordinary (testimonial) oaths that are routinely administered to witnesses at trial with the aim of eliciting only truthful testimony, but which are of dubious value in achieving that end. By contrast, a decisive oath can end a lawsuit in cases where the plaintiff has no evidence. We use a simple economic model of litigation to examine the impact of the decisive oath in resolving lawsuits and the effects of religious status on the likelihoods of requesting and taking the oath. To test the implications of the model, we use data from the early nineteenth century Ottoman courts to examine the empirical relationship between the stakes of the case, religious status of defendants, and litigation outcomes. The results show that as the stakes of a case increased: (1) resolution by evidence-based trial or the oath option were both more likely than settlement; (2) the plaintiff was less likely to request an oath from non-religious defendants as the baseline, with an additional effect that was also negative and even greater for religious defendants; and (3) non-religious defendants were more likely to take the oath, with an additional effect that was negative for religious defendants, which offset or reversed the baseline positive effect. Our analysis contributes both to the theoretical literature on the economics of dispute resolution, and to the historical literature on the role of decisive oaths in resolving legal disputes, especially in Islamic societies and civil law traditions.

Tactical Features of the Interrogation of a Suspect (Accused) in a Conflict Situation in the Investigation of Terrorist and Extremist Crimes

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the interrogation of a suspect (accused) in criminal cases of terrorist and extremist orientation. Interrogation is one of the most difficult investigative actions in tactical terms. The investigator or another person who takes testimony from the interrogated has to face a number of difficulties. The article highlights the problematic aspects of interrogation in a conflict situation of both procedural and tactical nature. Forensically, investigative tactics are based on scientifically proved recommendations from various fields of knowledge. The key in the verbal contact of the subjects of interrogation is knowledge from the field of psychology based on the characterological features of the criminal’s personality. The problem of identifying the psychological personality type of the interrogated person is associated with his various behavioral reactions to stimuli, as well as features of world perception, cultural, aesthetic preferences. The article defines the investigative task of recognizing the radical personality of the suspect (accused) to establish psychological contact with him (paranoid, hysteroid, epileptoid, emotive, hyperthymic, anxious and schizoid). Most of the considered tactics and combinations relate to the psychology of the relations of the opposing participants in criminal proceedings. On the one hand, this is an investigator, who must take truthful testimony and, on the other hand, a suspect (accused) who is trying to avoid criminal liability for an illegal act committed or minimize this liability. Tactical interrogation techniques developed in domestic criminology have been clarified by the author of the article and supplemented for the purposes of effective investigation of terrorism and extremism. The proposed recommendations for obtaining testimony can be used not only at the stage of preliminary investigation of crimes, but also during the pre-investigation check.

Thomas in Alexandria: Arguments for Locating the Gospel and Book of Thomas in Alexandria

Abstract In this article, I argue that the Gospel of Thomas and the Book of Thomas were composed in Alexandria, Egypt. For the Gospel of Thomas, I examine the manuscript attestation and quotations of the gospel from known Alexandrian figures (e.g., Julius Cassianus, Basilideans) and texts (the Gospel according to the Egyptians), and from texts that are arguably Alexandrian (e.g., the Testimony of Truth, Excerpts from Theodotus, and the Naassene discourse). With respect to the Book of Thomas, I examine the treatise’s use of the tradent Matthias, the Philonic paradigm of the spiritual athlete, the use of the Alexandrian Apocalypse of Peter, and distinctive overlaps with other Alexandrian figures and texts. Determining the provenance of anonymous ancient texts is hypothetical, but the most reliable and precise evidence for the Gospel and Book of Thomas supports a composition in Alexandria more so than it does the regions of Edessa, Jerusalem, or Antioch.

Ways to improve witness privileges

The obligation of a witness to give truthful testimony during the pre-trial investigation and trial is subject to a number of exceptions set forth in the CPC of Ukraine. These exceptions are the right of a certain category of witnesses to refuse to testify in situations expressly provided for by law, and they are an integral part of the «witness privilege», which means both the release of a witness from the obligation to testify and the release of a person from the procedural status of a witness. The existence of personal witness privileges in the legislation is one of the signs of Ukraine's compliance with the requirements of a legal, democratic state. However, despite all its positive aspects, the institute of witness privileges and immunities is still not free from certain drawbacks. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the problematic aspects and identify the ways to improve witness privileges. In the course of the study, we proposed to: 1) to expand the circle of persons referred to in clause 1, part 1, art. 3 of the CPC of Ukraine, including: all other relatives by the lateral line of kinship children of siblings; cousins; siblings of parents; parents, siblings of husband and wife; 2) to make a reservation in the CPC of Ukraine that a witness is obliged to testify against a deceased close relative or family member only if it is necessary for the rehabilitation of other persons; 3) to provide for mandatory participation of a defense counsel in criminal proceedings in all cases where the rights of a minor are concerned. To do this, it is necessary to supplement Part 2 of Article 52 of the CPC of Ukraine with paragraph 10 as follows: «with regard to minors who, due to their age, are unable to fully exercise their rights, from the moment the fact of minority is established»; 4) to introduce «asymmetry of the rules of admissibility of evidence» into the criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine. Currently, there are still some issues in Ukraine regarding the normative delineation of the circle of family members who enjoy witness privileges, and there is also a need to improve guarantees for the realization of privileges for minors.

The Romans, the Temple, and the Alexandrian Context of the Testimony of Truth (NHC IX,3)

Abstract The Testimony of Truth (NHC IX,3) is characterized by polemic against other Christians and certain aspects of Judaism, and shows familiarity with Jewish textual traditions. One such case is a narrative surrounding Solomon’s building of the Jerusalem temple with the help of demons, who are incarcerated in the temple water jars and released by Roman armies, who unknowingly perform an act of purification on a demon-infected space. This paper argues that: 1) Testimony of Truth should be read as part of the wider early Christian polemical tradition presenting Rome as purveyors of vengeance against the errant Jewish people; 2) Testimony of Truth offers evidence for a flourishing Jewish presence in second or early third-century Alexandria, against the long-held argument that the community was largely annihilated following the Diaspora Revolt.

Шляхи вирішення проблеми запобігання кримінальним правопорушенням щодо окремих учасників кримінальних проваджень в Україні

The article is devoted to ways of solving the problem of prevention of criminal offenses in Ukraine regarding individual participants in criminal proceedings, in particular, witnesses and victims in the context of ensuring their safety in criminal proceedings. Based on the study of foreign experience in solving this problem in criminal proceedings, it was established that the key features of the procedural status of witnesses and victims, which distinguish them from other participants in criminal proceedings, in particular, the suspect, the accused, are the presence, respectively, of a statutory duty or right to provide independent impartial testimony on the merits of criminal proceedings, as well as the obligation to provide truthful testimony. However, such statutory obligations of the specified participants in criminal proceedings must be confirmed by appropriate guarantees of their safety from the legislator. Their essence as subjects of the criminal process, who are carriers of evidentiary information, emerges from a theoretical study of the scientific positions of individual scientists regarding the purpose and grounds of protection and ensuring their safety, as well as an analysis of the norms of criminal and criminal procedural legislation in force in Ukraine, which are designed to implement ways prevention of the possibility of committing criminal offenses against the witness and the victim in the context of ensuring their protection and safety in criminal proceedings. An analysis of the positive for Ukraine experience of some foreign states in building a system of protection and ensuring the safety of the mentioned participants in the process in order to prevent criminal offenses against them is also presented. The use of international experience is invaluable for the urgent need to improve the institution of prevention of criminal offenses against participants in criminal proceedings in Ukraine. After all, today in Ukraine there is an urgent need to develop an effective system of protection and protection of analyzed participants in criminal proceedings, given the lack of a mechanism for implementing the relevant legislation.

Институт дачи клятвы (приведения к присяге) как мера стимулирования правдивых показаний

The article considers the legal institution of oath in foreign legal systems as a measure to encourage participants in criminal proceedings to give truthful testimony during judicial interrogation. The author uses the comparative and comparative legal analysis, a survey with an inferior alternative, and doctrinal analysis to compare the institution under discussion with other incentive measures and highlight its advantages. In the first part, the author highlights the domestic views on the legal incentive measures to encourage truthful testimony and dwells on their practical effectiveness and legitimacy in relation to individual participants in the criminal process. Analysing the legal measures proposed by Russian researchers, the author emphasizes that such measures, among other challenges, violate the rights of some participants in the criminal process (suspects, the accused). He also indicates some forensic shortcomings of the proposed measures, among which is the stimulation of errors in the perception of the event under investigation. According to the author, if the institution of oath has none of the described shortcomings, it indicates its viability. The second part of the article contains a normative comparative legal analysis of the legislation of foreign countries (Islamic Republic of Iran, Georgia, Germany, and the USA) in terms of the institution under consideration. The third part contains a justification from the standpoint of the domestic legal doctrine, as well as from the standpoint of psychology (taking into account the results of a survey with the effect of an inferior alternative), the possibility of introducing the institution of oath of a non-religious nature by participants in criminal proceedings during the interrogation in the trial as a measure encouraging truthful testimony. These testimonies will be “true” not from the persepctive of the subject of criminal procedural proof, but from the perspective of the interrogated person. In conclusion, the author speaks about the possibility of introducing a legal institution of a non-religious oath (swearing-in) in the Russian criminal process, at least, in the interrogation of participants in the criminal process at the stages of judicial proceedings in a criminal case.

Вправе ли несовершеннолетние участники уголовного судопроизводства давать показания изобличающего характера?

The problematic issue for theory and practice of the possibility of applying norms of the pre-trial agreement institute on cooperation to juvenile suspects and defendants is studied. The relevance of issue is due to the fact that the specified legal institution is successfully used in the practice of combating group crime, and for juveniles it is the group way of committing crimes that is typical. The legal position of the Plenum of Supreme Court on the issue under study is analyzed, its shortcomings are noted. The refusal to conclude a cooperation agreement with a juvenile in order to exclude a threat to the personal safety of a teenager from the exposed persons is subjected to critical analysis. In our opinion, in order to achieve this goal, another measure would be necessary – a ban on juvenile defendants to expose other persons of involvement in the commission of crimes. Taking into account the fact that the law obliges juveniles who have the procedural status of a victim or witness to give truthful testimony of a revealing nature, it is concluded that the right to give similar testimony to a minor suspect, accused should not be denied. The conclusion of a preliminary cooperation agreement in the interests of the accused himself and the whole society.

The Psychological Impact on the Interrogatee in Order to Obtain Truthful Testimony: The Admissibility Criteria

The Psychological Impact on the Interrogatee in Order to Obtain Truthful Testimony: The Admissibility Criteria

중국 초기 산문의 ‘敎化性’ 특징과 그 장르적 계승관계 고찰

The purpose of this study is to investigate the hypothesis that the genre containing “敎化性domestication,” one of the characteristics of China’s early pros, was expressed as “admonished and inscription(箴銘).” Even if the sentences before the letters were verbally transmitted and cited, if they expanded their vitality as one of the later genres, they can also be included in the realm of prose. The early edification sentences were pre-textual media but appeared as “testimony of truth” by the philosophers and scholars of the Warring States Period. However, the reason why these styles failed to spread to future generations is that they could not expand to individual genres as they were absorbed into the philosophers and scholars of the Warring States Period and media. This is because strong reason overwhelmed the transcendent world, and their language was superior to the language and power of the gods. The text before the writing reached the Han Dynasty secured its genre characteristics with “moral prose” called “admonished and inscription (箴銘)”, which maintained its vitality until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Особенности использования косвенных доказательств при расследовании убийств «без трупа»

In cases of murder «without a corpse», the most difficult and responsible task of the investigator and the court is to resolve the question of the guilt of the person accused of murder, when the event of the crime is established only by indirect evidence. In these cases, the question undoubtedly arises whether the accused will not be convicted of «killing» a living person. This consideration imposes additional duties on the investigator to inquire into the versions about the missing person’s presence with exceptional depth, on the one hand, and about the murder committed by the accused, on the other.
 The entire classification of indirect evidence for its use in proving the guilt of the accused, when the corpse is not found and defendant denies his guilt, can be divided into two large groups: indirect evidence that is not related to the behavior of the accused and evidence related to his behavior.
 The first group of indirect evidence includes facts that indicate the murder of the victim and the possible guilt of the accused in the murder. The second group involves evidence related to the defendant’s behavior: the behavior of the criminal aimed at evading his responsibility for murder; cases of the suspect (accused) showing awareness of certain elements of the crime mechanism and all other types of behavior that indirectly indicate guilt.
 The article analyzes the possibilities of their use for obtaining truthful testimony from a suspect (accused) and his conviction by a court in cases of murder without a victim.

A Manuscript Waiting for its Reader: “A Word About Alma Mater” by Leonid Chernov

The goal of the article is to draw attention of the art community to the little‑known memoirs of Leonid Chernov (1915–1990), a famous Ukrainian graphic artist, professor of Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute. These memoirs are called A Word about Alma Mater and exist as a 120‑page self‑published book. They provide an opportunity for modern readers to learn firsthand how art education was organized in Kharkiv Art College and Kharkiv Art Institute in the 1930s–1950s. The original text is kept in the artist’s family and exists only as a single typewritten copy. In recent decades, about a dozen scholars have had the opportunity to get acquainted with the literary heritage of L. Chernov. Only some theses from this unique text have been quoted in individual academic papers. Chernov’s memoirs are valuable both in terms of literary merit and in terms of truthful testimony about the aspirations and feelings of the author himself and the people close to him, about real historical facts and personalities with whom his fate and the fate of his home university were closely related. L. Chernov wanted to publish his memoirs in the form of an illustrated photo album, back in the 1980s. However, something then thwarted his intentions. At this stage, with the permission of the artist’s family, one of the fragments of such valuable material – the author’s theses to the memoirs and the first section of the main text is published. Unique photo documents from the artist’s albums are published together with the text.

ТАКТИКА ДОПИТУ: ЗАКОРДОННИЙ ДОСВІД

The purpose of the study is to acquaint domestic experts with the theoretical developments of foreign criminologists on the tactics of interrogation in the pre-trial investigation and determine the trends of their development. Modern trends in law must qualitative rethinking of existing methods of interrogation in the direction of humanization. New methods of interrogation, which have been developed in foreign countries, propose to ensure the observance of human rights with the fulfillment of the tasks of criminal proceedings. The study of models such as PEACE and KREATIV shows the possibility of moving from interrogation to procedural interview. A procedural interview is an effective mechanism for collecting and recording accurate, reliable and reliable information during the investigation of criminal offenses. At the same time, modern models of interrogation do not resort to torture and other violations of human rights. Modern approaches to developing interrogation models focus on psychological and cognitive components. They contribute to the preparation of complete and truthful testimony of the interrogated. Thus, the article has described the foreign experience of interrogation as an effective mechanism for obtaining complete and reliable factual data in the pre-trial investigation. Based on the analysis of foreign models, the leading role of the humanistic and narrative approaches have determined in the development of new and improvement of existing methods of interrogation, which will ensure the proper implementation of the tasks of criminal justice. Modern approaches to the development of interrogatory models are concentrated on its psychological and cognitive components, within which the creation and maintenance of the proper level of communication, which will contribute to the completeness and objectivity of indications of interrogated, omitting indictment, coercive or obsessive approaches. According to the results of the research, an attempt we have made to single out the forensic features of interrogation models used in foreign countries to increase the effectiveness of the process of detection and investigation of criminal offenses.

Отдельные проблемы практики предъявления лица для опознания: криминалистический и уголовно-процессуальный аспекты

The article reveals a complex of problems associated with the implementation of tactics of presenting a person for identification in crime investigations. The range of problems affects methodological, forensic, and criminal procedural aspects. The object of the study was the effectiveness of the practice of implementing the tactical potential of the investigative action of presenting a person for identification. In the study, the following general scientific methods were used: analysis, synthesis, systemic and structural. The following specific scientific methods were also used: modeling, statistical analysis, comparative historical, expert assessment. The article contains the following conclusions. Differentiation of tactical techniques depending on the procedural status of the identifying person is the main vector for the development of the tactical potential of the investigative action under consideration. At the same time, one can agree that the current Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation only slightly changed the wording, without introducing anything fundamentally innovative in tactical terms. In the present period, research into the forensic nature of presenting a person for identification is dominant, aimed at developing tactical practices for conducting new types of identification (by smell, voice, etc.). A significant part of the authors of scientific studies believe that the presentation of a person for identification often depends on the success of an investigation in many criminal cases. Other researchers believe that the presentation of a person for identification is an investigative action with a tactically dubious result. In our opinion, both sides present fair arguments. Therefore, in order to neutralize the position of the second group of authors, it is necessary to develop new types of presentation for identification. In the forensic theory, an undifferentiated procedure for organizing the procedure for presenting a person for identification (independent of the procedural position of the identifier) was developed and is still considered the most rational. The most “disenfranchised” participants in the criminal process are the victim and, especially, the witness as a legally oriented, conscientious figure obliged to give truthful testimony, disregarding the issues of ensuring personal safety, not caring either about their family members or those close to them. The traditional formulations of criminal procedural norms regulating the freedom of choice of actions of an identifiable person in an investigative action, in fact, do not carry freedom of choice. In some cases, there is an undeniable expediency of re-presentation for identification. The article describes both of these cases.

Algorithms of actions of law enforcement officers during the investigation of the involvement of minors in illegal activities

The scientific article is devoted to covering some aspects of the investigation of the involvement of minors in illegal activities. Algorithms of actions of law enforcement officers in the studied category of criminal proceedings are considered. It is stated that the relevant authorized persons must perform their duties according to the specific circumstances and circumstances. In general, we can say that one of the fundamental scientific categories for planning and organizing a pre-trial investigation is the investigative situation. At the same time, the involvement of minors in illegal activities is characterized by specific circumstances that affect the algo-rithms of actions of the National Police during the detection and investigation of these criminal offenses. It is determined that at the initial stage of the investigation of involvement of minors in illegal ac-tivities, the following typical investigative situations arise: a) the person who involved a minor in illegal activities is known and detained, there is sufficient material and personal evidence reports of suspicion; b) the person who involved the minor in the illegal activity is known, but the material and personal evidence is not sufficient to inform him of the suspicion; c) the person who involved the juvenile in illegal activities is known to have a sufficient amount of material and personal evidence, but the offender is hiding from law enforcement agencies; d) the fact of involvement of the juvenile in illegal activity is revealed, but the identity of the criminal isn't established. The order of actions of the authorized persons according to each of them is defined. In particular, with regard to the first situation, it is stated that it is the simplest. At the moment of violation of entering information into the URPI, the event of involvement of a minor in illegal activities and the manner of committing a criminal offense are obvious. In addition, the identity of the offender and the juvenile involved in illegal activities, as well as the nature of the relationship between them. The circumstances of the juvenile's illegal actions are known, and the offender admits his guilt and gives truthful testimony.

Revelation Relocated: Reflections on Jerusalem in Testimony of Truth (NHC IX,3) and the First Apocalypse of James (NHC V,3; Cod. Tch. 2)

Abstract This article examines treatments of Jerusalem, including its temple and first-century demise, in Testimony of Truth (NHC IX,3) and the First Apocalypse of James (NHC V,3; Cod. Tch. 2). Among Nag Hammadi writings, these texts are relatively unusual in their attention to the historical, Roman presence in the city. Informed by contemporary apocalyptic traditions, Testim. Truth and 1 Apoc. Jas. cast foreign domination not as a crisis, but as a clue, specifically to seek revelation elsewhere. In this spatial sense, revelation is “relocated” in each text, yet in different ways. The article further shows how each presentation of Jerusalem aligns with other interests of Testim. Truth and 1 Apoc. Jas., including their engagement in intra-Christian debate.

John the Baptist and the Jordan River: The Arrival of the Son of Man in the Testimony of Truth (NHC IX,3) and Parallels in the Paraphrase of Shem (NHC VII,1)

The Testimony of Truth (NHC IX,3) presents a relatively unique portrait of Christ, with little attention to his teachings or death; rather, the author emphasizes the Son of Man's arrival, both via a descent upon the Jordan River and through Mary, the virgin. This article argues that the pairing of these seemingly disparate traditions emphasizes key interests: the rejection of water baptism and sexual desire. A comparison with the Paraphrase of Shem (NHC VII,1), particularly its reference to John the Baptist and its cosmology, further illuminates both texts; in addition to questioning modes of baptism, shared interest in bearing proper witness suggests common engagement in early Christian debates regarding martyrdom.

The Problem of Inauthentic Memoirs: Akhmatova’s Case

This article considers one of the key issues in the reception of memoirs, i.e. the contradiction embedded in the specific character of the genre. Lidiya Ginzburg defined it as an interconnection of two counter-directed principles: the mandatory “strife for authenticity” on the one hand, and subjectivity as an “‘inauthenticity’ catalyst” on the other. Being a truthful testimony, a memoir is not a distilled document, purified from different unpremeditated distortions, caused by the incomplete knowledge of the memorialist, their delusions or personal interpretation of stated facts. Agreeing with V. Tyupa’s differentiation between discourse and genre, the author analyses Akhmatova’s reaction to two memoirs and the way scholars treated them and demonstrates the following: 1) a memoir can be regarded as authentic / inauthentic only within a communicative event, i.e. discourse; 2) working with an admittedly inauthentic testimony, Akhmatova applied Lotman’s logic. According to this logic, the key factor in working with a source is neither its authenticity, nor its inauthenticity, but the rightfully stated “correlation between the type of the source and the methodology of its analysis”. In the first case, Akhmatova became a critic of the authors of her biography, who used the book Petersburg Winters by G. Ivanov as a reliable historical source and thus disfigured the corner stone of her creative development. In the second case, she proved that the memoirs of Prince Trubetskoy about the relationship between Pushkin and Aleksandra Goncharova turned from “delirious mumbling” rejected by P. Shchegolev as falsehood into “a document of paramount importance as the only and true story told by d’Anthès himself”.

Petri Dish Deceptions: A Search for 100% Veracity in Rimini Protokoll’s Statistical Portrait of Montreal

In the wake of 2016—the year of ‘post-truth’ and ‘fake facts’—Rimini Protokoll’s participatory theatre work, 100% Montréal, attempted to reveal what the city’s census data had failed to capture about the lives of its citizens. This article examines how their theatrical juxtaposition of a city’s demographic data with the onstage testimonies of 100 residents reveals important underlying factors that have plagued the pursuit of accuracy in census-taking throughout history. In doing so, 100% Montreal effectively stages the conditions under which contemporary definitions of ‘truth’ become increasingly mutable and elusive, while underscoring the extent to which the public disclosure of accurate and truthful testimony relies on a trustworthy culture of respect and privacy protection between the surveyors and the surveyed.

IDENTIFICATION OF DATA EVIDING A NON-FULFILLMENT OF THE PERSONS ''OBLIGATIONS OF AN INSTRUMENT COOPERATION AGREEMENT AS A BASIS FOR CANCELLATION OR CHANGING THE DECISION IN THE COURT OF THE APPEAL INSTANCE

Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, after the amendments introduced by the Federal Law of 03.07.2016 No. 322, provides for such an unfavorable consequence for a person who has entered into a pre-trial cooperation agreement in the event that he fails to fulfill its conditions, such as cancellation or amendment of a court decision on appeal. This consequence, along with the possibility of termination of the agreement, trial of the case in the usual manner, review of the court decision regarding the imposed punishment, is considered as the procedural responsibility of the said person. At the same time, the issue of the obligation of the person who entered into the pre-trial cooperation agreement to give truthful testimony regarding the accomplices of the crime, as well as his procedural status during the interrogation of the main case while fulfilling the conditions of the pre-trial cooperation agreement, remains debatable. The position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation expressed in Resolution No. 17-P of 20.07.2016, as well as the position of the European Court of Human Rights of 04.12.2014 in the case of Alexander Valeryevich Kazakov v. Russia, which is discussed in this article.