| Abstract [eng] |
This master’s thesis analyses the legal status of person questioned about a criminal act he/she may have committed and the significance of his/her testimony in the evidentiary process. Employing the historical method, the thesis examines the historical development of the legal regulation of the special witness, the reasons for the emergence of this procedural figure in the criminal procedure of the Republic of Lithuania, and the corresponding developments in other European jurisdictions — namely France and Italy. The thesis also discusses a procedural figure existing in Spanish criminal procedure which, in certain respects, may be considered analogous to the special witness. Using systemic and analytical methods, the thesis provides an in-depth examination of the specific features and procedural particularities of witness questioning as established in Article 80(1) and Article 82(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania. By analyzing the positions of legal scholars and the case law of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, the thesis identifies and elucidates the issues relating to the legal regulation and procedural status of the special witness. The thesis further addresses one of the fundamental principles of evidentiary procedure – the adversarial principle – which ensures the fairness of criminal proceedings and constitutes a key element underpinning the independent evidentiary value of an individual’s testimony. Through an examination of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Lithuania and lower courts, as well as that of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Court of Human Rights, the thesis identifies the criteria applicable to the assessment of testimony within the evidentiary process, with particular emphasis on the criterion of reliability. The study seeks to determine whether the distinctive features of the regulation governing the special witness have an impact on the assessment of the evidentiary value of testimony provided by this procedural subject. |
