If you are called in for questioning as a witness

According to the current criminal procedure legislation, a witness in Ukraine is a natural person who knows or may be aware of the circumstances to be proved during criminal proceedings, and who is summoned to testify. That is, if the body conducting the pre-trial investigation decides whether it receives an instruction from the head of the procedure (prosecutor) that you may be aware of important circumstances for establishing the truth in the criminal investigation, you can receive a summons by personal or registered mail. for questioning as a witness.

It is important to know and remember:

1. Some categories of citizens have the right to refuse to testify due to the fact that they fall under the circle of persons who do not have the right to disclose certain information. This applies to lawyers, clergy, notaries, journalists, medical professionals. However, the amount of information in respect of which these citizens can not be questioned, is determined by the relevant law in relation to a particular activity and the need for written consent of the client to disclose information and to what extent. For example: lawyers cannot be questioned on issues of legal secrecy, ie to interrogate any information that has become known to a lawyer in connection with the provision of legal assistance to his client, including as a result of a single application by a person, without further protection or representation of the interests of the person. As for health professionals, then they can not be asked about the state of health of patients, ie to disclose medical secrets. Journalists are not allowed to know confidential information about their professional activities. But if they want to receive information from these persons that is not their profile secret, they are obliged to provide answers.
2. If an individual is summoned for questioning as a witness, that person has the right to refuse to testify, exercising his right under Article 63 of the Constitution of Ukraine and the relevant Articles 65-67 of the Criminal Procedure Code., covering the content of the rights and responsibilities of the witness. The content of the above articles provides for the possibility of a witness refusing to testify about himself or about close relatives. That is, if the interrogation raises questions about your professional activities or the activities of relatives, and there is a risk of self-disclosure of their actions, the person has the right to refuse to testify. If the information of interest relates to the activities of outsiders, the witness has no right to avoid answering, as such actions prevent him from conducting a pre-trial investigation and administration of justice. Moreover, the law provides for appropriate criminal liability for refusing to provide the necessary information or knowingly false testimony.

Does a witness need a lawyer and in what ways to record cases of violation of their rights

Any person summoned for questioning as a witness has the right to legal assistance. And, as practice shows, it is better not to go for interrogation, and nevertheless to take care of presence of the lawyer on it. The fact is that the very presence of a lawyer with you during the investigation ensures that your rights will not be violated, your testimony will not be formulated in the form required by the investigator, and gaps in ignorance of the law on the content of evidence will not be used against you. .

If it so happens that your rights will eventually be violated, the law enforcement officer may be subject to at least disciplinary action. To do this, a written appeal should be sent to the management and the prosecutor. But remember: illegal actions must be recorded and proven. And very often the issue of video recording is quite difficult: the recording of the investigative action is not always provided, and video recording by an outsider may be prohibited. Of course, if you have a lawyer with you during the investigation, he or she may request that the investigation be recorded by audio / video recording. But, in any case, the final decision is made by the investigator.

If the interrogation of a witness was initiated by a victim or suspect who, in his / her request to the pre-trial investigation body, requested that the interrogation process be recorded, it is likely that the investigator or prosecutor will satisfy such a wish. But practice shows that not all investigative actions are recorded, because this requires appropriate technical capabilities. It is not possible to take pictures on the phone, for example, of a lawyer, the interrogation process. Like the witness, the lawyer is prohibited from disclosing information obtained during the investigative action, questions asked, etc. Therefore, unauthorized fixation by a witness is illegal.

Therefore, in order to document the violation of a citizen's rights during his interrogation, it is necessary to write relevant remarks in the protocol itself, as well as to send complaints about illegal actions during the proceedings ex post facto.

It is also important to know that if a person is concerned about his or her own safety or is concerned about the safety of people close to him or her, the witness has the right to request that measures be taken to ensure his or her confidentiality.

So, summarizing the above, the following conclusion follows - to use the help of a lawyer, in case of summoning for questioning as a witness, it is necessary in any situation, even if you believe that your testimony will not harm anyone.