Rights and Obligations of Witnesses in Criminal Cases

Who is considered a witness?

Witness is a person who knows details related to the source of information about the crime, the case, and is summoned by the competent authority to testify.

However, some individuals, although meeting the above conditions, will not be considered witnesses, specifically:

- The defense attorney of the accused;- A person who, due to mental or physical disability, cannot comprehend the details related to the source of information about the crime, the case, or cannot testify accurately.

What rights does a witness have?

According to Clause 3, Article 66 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code, a witness has the following rights:

- Request the summoning authority to protect their life, health, honor, dignity, property, and other legitimate rights and interests, as well as those of their relatives, when threatened;- File complaints against decisions or procedural actions of the authority or person conducting the procedure related to their participation in testifying;- Receive reimbursement for travel and other expenses from the summoning authority as stipulated by law.

What obligations does a witness have?

A witness has the following obligations:

- Be present as per the summons of the competent procedural authority. If they intentionally absent themselves without a compelling reason or without objective obstacles, and their absence hinders the resolution of the information about the crime, prosecution, investigation, or trial, they may be escorted by force;- Provide honest accounts of the details they know related to the source of information about the crime, the case, and the reasons they know these details.

Playing an important role in providing details of the case, a witness who engages in false testimony or refuses to testify, or evades testifying without a compelling reason or due to objective obstacles, will be held criminally liable according to the Criminal Code.

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE