Defendant's right to refuse to testify as a witness in civil and administrative proceedings: Observations in view of Article 182 §3 CPC

Chojniak, Łukasz

Defendant's right to refuse to testify as a witness in civil and administrative proceedings: Observations in view of Article 182 §3 CPC

Abstract

The article addresses issues related to the right of a witness in civil or administrative proceedings to refuse to testify in a situation where the witness has been charged in criminal proceedings. In criminal proceedings, it is beyond doubt that a witness may refuse to testify altogether if he or she is accused of complicity in a crime dealt with in the proceedings pending in another case. Regardless of the construction of the contents of Article 182 §3 CPC, a corresponding right has not been formulated with respect to civil or administrative proceedings, even though a witness may be required to testify in such proceedings with regard to facts of relevance to his or her criminal liability. In practice, this may generate a situation which is in breach of the right to defence of the accused and, at the same time, a witness in other pending proceedings. It does not seem a sufficient guarantee for such a witness would consist only of the right to refuse to answer specific questions asked of him or her during the hearing.

Keywords

witness suspect testimony refusal silence charges

Citation

Chojniak, Ł. (2018). Defendant's right to refuse to testify as a witness in civil and administrative proceedings: Observations in view of Article 182 §3 CPC. Ius Novum, 12(4), 82–96. https://doi.org/10.26399/iusnovum.v12.4.2018.36/l.chojniak

URI

https://open.icm.edu.pl/handle/123456789/19955

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