Hearing of the Witnesses – Psychological and Evidence Value of the Statement Given in the Pretrial Procedure
Hearing of the Witnesses – Psychological and Evidence Value of the Statement Given in the Pretrial Procedure

Summary/Abstract: Witnesses are still important and very common evidence in criminal procedure. In the case of subjective evidence, it is very important to assess the credibility of the testimony correctly. The authorized official (criminalist, judge or public prosecutor) in the pretrial procedure has an extremely difficult task in evaluating the objectivity of what the witness presents during his hearing. Therefore, in addition to legal, the authorized official must also have extra-legal knowledge. To be able to conduct the hearing successfully, the authors indicate the importance of knowing the psychological processes and tactics of the authorized persons when taking the testimony from the witnesses. At the end of this paper, the authors analyze the problems related to the probative value of the statements given in the pretrial procedure, the use and the evidence value of the statements of the witnesses given to the public prosecutor in the pretrial procedure that are used in cases of inconsistency between this statement and the statement of the witness given during the main hearing. Although the purpose of the existing Law on Criminal Procedure is primarily to present all the evidence immediately at the adversarial and public hearing, it must also provide exceptions from the direct presentation of the evidence.

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