Head of practice
Attorney. Specialist in commercial and labor law. Over 16 years of experience in legal support of businesses - debt recovery, contract enforcement, recovery of damages, commercial property and lease disputes.
Request to summon witnesses
The role of witnesses is crucial in court proceedings. According to the legislation, the participation of witnesses in economic proceedings is conditioned by the presence of certain conditions and restrictions, which will be determined by the Economic Procedural Code of Ukraine.
Prerequisites for summoning witnesses in business proceedings
The procedural law establishes certain conditions for summoning a witness, namely, the presence of a document issued in accordance with the requirements of Art. 88 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, statements. It must be submitted in writing and notarized. In the application, the data of the witness, the circumstances known to him and, necessarily, the sources of this information are indicated.
The lack of information about sources will make it impossible for the court to perform procedural actions related to summoning a person in a certain procedural status.
When it is necessary to call witnesses
- In the event that the written evidence was found to be insufficient;
- When there is a need to refute or confirm relevant facts;
- When there is a need for additional information regarding certain events related to the case.
According to Art. 89. of the Economic Procedure Code of Ukraine, a witness is summoned for questioning at the initiative of the court or at the request of a party to the case.
Content of the motion to summon witnesses
In the request, it is necessary to specify:
- data concerning the witness: surname, first name, patronymic, address of residence/place of work, means of communication
- circumstances that the witness can confirm.
The content of the testimony of a specific witness cannot be indicated in the statement, since they are not yet known, but only those circumstances that are important for the case, which are known to the witness, in the opinion of the applicant, are indicated).
Deadlines for submitting a petition
The motion to summon a witness must be submitted before or during the preliminary court hearing, and if the preliminary court hearing is not held in the case – before the start of the trial on the merits. The necessity of questioning a witness may become clear during the trial, in this situation the court may decide on the question of summoning a witness on its own initiative or at the request of a party to the case, if this does not lead to a delay in the trial.
Consideration of the request to call witnesses
The petition is considered by the court, which makes a decision on its satisfaction or refusal. He evaluates the appropriateness of the data about the witness specified in the application and the relevance of his potential testimony to the case. If the information meets the requirements of the law and is important for the consideration of the case, the request to call the witness may be granted. If the petition is granted, a decision is made to summon a witness. At the same time, the witness is warned about criminal liability for giving false testimony.
Who can be a witness
According to Art. 66 of the Economic Procedural Code of Ukraine, a witness can be a legally competent person who has information about certain circumstances related to the case. The witness has the duty to appear before the court upon his summons at the appointed time and to testify in relation to the circumstances known to him.
The court may allow a witness to participate in a court session via video conference, regardless of the possible objections of the parties to the case. Such permission is granted if the witness is sick, elderly, disabled, or has other valid reasons. If the witness will not be able to appear in court and take part in the hearing thanks to the video conference, he must warn the court about this.
The witness is given the right to testify in his native language or in the language he speaks, he can also use his records during the session and, in cases established by law, refuse to testify.
Having appeared in court, a witness has no right not to testify. Exclusion – testimony against oneself and members of one’s family, which may entail liability before the law. A witness who appeared at the court’s request and refuses to testify must provide the reasons for the refusal (Article 68 of the Code of Civil Procedure of Ukraine).
Testimony of a witness according to the Code of Civil Procedure
According to part 1, 2, 4 of Art. 87 of the Economic Procedural Code of Ukraine, the testimony of a witness is information known to him and important for a certain case. If the witness testified, but does not name the sources, it will not be considered as evidence. Testimony of witnesses is not a basis for establishing the facts that have already been shown in the relevant documents.
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Legal Aid
The business process can be complex and require a deep understanding of legislation and procedural norms. Improper filing of the motion, missing the filing deadline, or insufficient justification of the need to call a witness can negatively affect the outcome of your case.
That is why we offer you to use the services of our experienced lawyers.Our team has deep knowledge in the field of commercial procedural law and many years of experience working with witnesses.
We will help you to correctly draw up all the necessary documents, prepare a convincing motion to call witnesses and effectively use their testimony to protect your interests. Contact us today, and we will provide professional support for your business at all stages of the business process.
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1 question
Are there disputed facts in your case that can only be confirmed by the testimony of witnesses?
2 question
Are there already potential witnesses and are they ready to participate in the process?
3 question
Are you a defendant in this case?
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