How to improve the objectivity of witness testimony

Source: Website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission

As one of the types of statutory evidence, witness testimony corroborates with its objectivity, relevance, legality and other evidence, forming a complete and stable chain of evidence to prove the facts to be proved, of which the objectivity of witness testimony is of paramount importance. To improve the objectivity of witness testimony and ensure that the facts are truly reflected, the following points need to be paid attention to.

Do a good job of witness ideological work. In practice, some witnesses either fear retaliation, or hold the mentality of "not caring about themselves and hanging on high", or have an interest in the case, and are unwilling to cooperate with the review and investigation work, resulting in the possible distortion of witness testimony. Therefore, before questioning witnesses, it is necessary to thoroughly understand the facts of the case, grasp the basic situation of witnesses, reasonably match the combination of conversations, determine the conversation strategy, ensure that the interrogation of witnesses is targeted, and eliminate the ideological concerns of witnesses as soon as possible. According to the different circumstances of the witnesses, especially the interests of the case, based on the conflict of interests or combination points, make reasonable pre-judgments, find the entry point, and prepare relevant legal documents and evidentiary materials, so as to refute the unreasonable statements of the witnesses by presenting documentary evidence and other means, avoid the witnesses from deliberately exaggerating or narrowing the facts, and urge them to cooperate in their work.

The rights of witnesses are fully guaranteed. Effectively informing witnesses of their rights and obligations is the initial work necessary for discipline inspection and supervision organs to carry out review and investigation, and it is also the basic work to ensure the objectivity of witness testimony. Only when witnesses are aware of their rights and obligations can they fully weigh the pros and cons, and their testimony is more objective and credible. To inform rights and obligations, the obligation to truthfully provide testimony and the disciplinary responsibility for not truthfully providing evidence must be informed, and if there are special provisions on the place of inquiry, translation, etc., they shall also be informed. To do the first inquiry, it is necessary to inform, and it is necessary to inform when the thinking is transformed and the interrogator is replaced, so as to ensure the independence and objectivity of the process and results of each inquiry. Strict operating procedures should be enforced. Before the questioning, if a witness who notifies that his or her personal freedom has not been restricted is to be questioned, a "Notice of Inquiry" shall be served on him. When asking, it is necessary to eliminate the use of induced questions that contain the answer in the question, and ensure that they make their own statements. The transcript of the interrogation shall be completed on the spot and checked and confirmed by the witness. The whole process of inquiry should guarantee their basic rights such as eating and drinking, resting, etc., and indicate them in the record.

True reflection of the full picture of the facts. Witnesses prove the relevant facts by what they see, hear, act and feel, so the witness testimony can only reflect the things within the witness's cognitive range, and cannot allow the witness to provide testimony beyond the scope of his or her cognition. The witness's comments, speculations, and inferences about a certain fact to be proved are not directly perceived by the witness's body, but belong to the mind' thoughts, and may not be consistent with the facts, and may even be diametrically opposed. This kind of mental activity is common in expressions such as "I feel", "he knows", "he should know", etc., which does not have probative effect in itself, but the facts on which the conclusion is based are probative, and the statements of the relevant facts should therefore be recorded. Therefore, the record of a witness's psychological activity should be based on recording what he has seen, heard, acted, and felt, so as to confirm the rationality of his inner comments, speculations, and inferences. The basic basis for the judgment of witnesses based on common sense of life, including specific professional experience, such as the currency and amount of cash, the weight of valuables, etc., should also be recorded.

Use synchronous audio and video recordings. Synchronous audio and video recordings are not only an objective reflection of the witnesses' statements, but also a record and supervision of the disciplinary law enforcement activities of the interrogators. According to articles 48 and 49 of the Rules for Supervision and Discipline Enforcement Work, and the second paragraph of Article 41 of the Supervision Law, simultaneous audio and video recordings shall be made of important evidence collection work, and important conversations and interrogation targets must not be taken away from the prescribed conversation venues, and important conversations or inquiries must not be conducted in places that are not equipped with monitoring equipment. The criterion for judging the importance of evidence collection is not limited to the identity or amount of the witness's bribery, but also depends on the importance of the constitutive elements and constituent elements of the crime involved in the case. For example, if a witness who has paid a relatively large amount of bribes, whose testimony is varied, who is closely related to the person under investigation, who gives testimony that is unfavorable to the person under investigation, or who is opposed to the person under investigation, who gives testimony favorable to the person under investigation, it is advisable to conduct simultaneous audio and video recordings in order to examine the objectivity of the witness's testimony.

Strengthen the reinforcement of witness testimony. For repeated and indeterminate witness testimony, multiple questions may be conducted under the condition that the rights of witnesses are fully protected, especially the replacement of interrogators for re-examination, fixing the content of witness testimony, and allowing them to explain reasonable reasons for inconsistencies. In addition, in view of the fact that the self-written materials can strengthen the validity of the testimony, at the same time as making the transcript, the witnesses can write down the relevant facts, and then be signed and checked by the witnesses, and the examiners sign and receive the remarks, so as to strengthen the objectivity of the self-written materials. Where due to objective conditions such as the isolation of the epidemic situation, it is not possible to inquire about the production of self-written materials on the spot, the case-handling personnel shall fully explain the formation of the self-written materials, and when necessary, confirm the authenticity of the self-written materials through remote video connection, and shall make a record and remark on the verification process, and where conditions permit, the relevant circumstances may be recorded and recorded for future reference.

(Chang Qinghua Author Affilications:Discipline Inspection Commission of Huaibei City, Anhui Province)