Snyadanko I.
Doctor of Juridical Sciences, Professor, Lviv Polytechnic National University,
Lviv, Ukraine
Ortynskiy V.
Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Аssistant Professor, Lviv Polytechnic National
University, Lviv, Ukraine
PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAINING OF VOLUNTEERS FOR WORK
WITH WITNESSES IN COURT
Introduction. According to Article 134 of the Criminal Procedural Code of Laws
of Ukraine it was determined that the investigating judge during the pre- trial
investigation or the court during the court proceedings have a right at own instance or
with the petitioning of the investigator, prosecutor, suspect, defendant, his/her defense
lawyer, complainant, his/her representative to summon to court a particular person if
investigating judge or court will state the sufficient evidence to decide that such a
person is able to provide a testimony that has meaning for criminal proceedings or
his/her participation in the hearing is mandatory.
The court subpoenas the participants of the criminal proceedings whose
participation is mandatory.
Due to the changes in the Criminal Procedural Code of Laws of Ukraine about the
fact that witnesses of a criminal case personally have to show up for the court hearing
to witness on the case provoked a lot of problems in litigation. The issues related to the
fact that witnesses might not appear in the court hearing, change their assertions etc.
In Ukraine, if the case is not of criminal nature then it is allowed to provide written
statements of the witnesses that significantly simplifies a court process. The court
process in criminal cases can be delayed for years due to the fact that witnesses did not
appear to the court or changed their statements. During the period of pre-trial
investigation or investigation in the court, a person who is accused might be behind
bars or under a house arrest. Defendant, victims, and their relatives have to wait for a
long time for the results of a hearing and final sentence. Waiting for the sentence is an
immense stress not only for the defendant, but also for his/her relatives, the victim and
his/her relatives (Weijers, 2004).
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (further known as
OSCE) paid attention to the fact that there are a lot of witnesses that do not show up to
the court in Ukraine that leads to the delays with resolutions or cases left not resolved
due to the lack of evidence. One of the reasons why the witnesses may not appear in
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