To the question of the content of the term «witness»

Abstract

This article examines the problem of the formation of criteria for assessing the reliability of the testimony of a witness, based on the analysis of the development process of this category. As a research task, the authors identified an attempt to evaluate the most traditional positions that determine its content, to compare them. The main content of the research is the analysis of the genesis of the category witness in the context of various historical periods. It is emphasized that the immediacy of perception underlies almost all definitions of the concept of witness. It has been established that, despite the duration of the existence of the studied category in criminal proceedings, the procedural functions of a witness belong to the category of poorly studied. The idea is substantiated that it is necessary to further improve the criminal procedural consolidation of the category of witness in conjunction with the demand for the development of forensic study of the witness and the formation of criteria for the reliability of the testimony of the witness.