Sharapova, D.V. Procedural aspects of guaranteeing presence of a witness in court

Abstract: The right for fair trial is one of the key conventional rights of an accused, and one of the elements of such a guarantee is a right to call and examine witnesses. In May of 2013, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has presented a legislative draft N. 272128-6 to the State Duma. This draft obliges the parties to guarantee presence of persons, whose testimony is presented as evidence by defense or accusing party. According to para. 3 of Art. 15 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation the court provides necessary conditions for the parties to fulfill their procedural obligation and to implement their rights. Does this initiative stand for an attempt to push this sphere onto the parties? The article includes analysis of the procedure for the guarantees of appearance of witness in court in the positions of the European Court of Human Rights, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in comparison with the above-mentioned legislative draft.

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