Some Features of the Criminal Procedural Status of a Witness

The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that the problems of the procedural position of a witness today need some addition and adjustment, while this particular issue requires special attention in connection with the expansion of the information space and the simplification of access to information contained in the materials of the criminal case of all participants in criminal proceedings. The question of the participation of a lawyer in criminal proceedings in order to provide qualified legal assistance to a witness remains important. In particular, the procedure for involving a lawyer in a criminal case has not been established, his procedural status has not been clearly regulated, and the issue of the possibility and limits of participation of a lawyer in investigative actions conducted with a witness has not been resolved. The purpose of the study is to analyze the legal problems related to the realization by the witness of his rights, the performance of his duties. The article deals with problematic issues related to the procedural status of a witness, analyzes the relevant norms of domestic criminal procedure legislation and the legislation of a number of foreign countries. The methodological basis of the work was the position of the general scientific dialectical method of cognition and the general theory of law, which made it possible to reveal the essence and features of the procedural status of a witness in pretrial criminal proceedings. The work widely uses the comparative legal method, which made it possible to identify the relationship between domestic and foreign legislation in the field of witness immunity. As a result, the following conclusions were made. It seems that it is necessary to provide a witness who has not formally received the status of a suspect or accused with qualified legal assistance on a mandatory basis, in order to protect his legal rights and interests. In addition, part 3 of Art. 56 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, supplementing it with a ban on taking evidence from all persons who, by virtue of their official duties, are its bearers and must keep it.