<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The paper deals with the admissibility of witness testimony in the preliminary proceeding which could be read in court without right of the defence to hear or examine such a witness. This question is particularly interesting with regard to preserving the adversarial principle which is important for an objective assessment of the facts. The focus will be to answer the question of whether so obtained and executed evidence may stand as the main evidence of guilt especially with regard to Article 6,par. 1 and 3 (d) ECHR (right to obtain attendance and examination of witnesses). The arguments in this paper will be submitted supported by the case law of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and the ECtHR. Contribution will also deal with British law and the applicability of the so-called Hearsay rule and the exceptions to this rule which can be applied in criminal proceedings.</p></abstract>

The paper deals with the admissibility of witness testimony in the preliminary proceeding which could be read in court without right of the defence to hear or examine such a witness. This question is particularly interesting with regard to preserving the adversarial principle which is important for an objective assessment of the facts. The focus will be to answer the question of whether so obtained and executed evidence may stand as the main evidence of guilt especially with regard to Article 6,par. 1 and 3 (d) ECHR (right to obtain attendance and examination of witnesses). The arguments in this paper will be submitted supported by the case law of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and the ECtHR. Contribution will also deal with British law and the applicability of the so-called Hearsay rule and the exceptions to this rule which can be applied in criminal proceedings.

Previous witness testimony as immediate or urgent action and its admissibility in court

International and Comparative Law Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The paper deals with the admissibility of witness testimony in the preliminary proceeding which could be read in court without right of the defence to hear or...

Previous witness testimony as immediate or urgent action and its admissibility in court

Published Online: Jan 24, 2018

Page range: 145 - 159

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/iclr-2016-0041

Keywords
Adversarial principle, contradictory, fair trial, testimony, witness, urgent or unrepeatable act, admissibility of evidence, read testimony, absent witness, Hearsay rule

© 2018

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Previous witness testimony as immediate or urgent action and its admissibility in court

Published Online: Jan 24, 2018

Page range: 145 - 159

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/iclr-2016-0041

KeywordsAdversarial principle, contradictory, fair trial, testimony, witness, urgent or unrepeatable act, admissibility of evidence, read testimony, absent witness, Hearsay rule

© 2018

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Adversarial principle, contradictory, fair trial, testimony, witness, urgent or unrepeatable act, admissibility of evidence, read testimony, absent witness, Hearsay rule