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European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online:https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 742
The Use Of The Institution Of Consignation Of Testimony As A
Proceduralguarantee To Protect The Rights And Legitimate Interests Of
Participants In Criminal Procedure
Dildora Bazarova
Acting Professor at Department of Criminal Procedure law andcriminalistics
Tashkent state universityof law, Republic of Uzbekistan PhDin Law
Annotation: The article deals with the institution of consignation of evidence
in criminal procedures. The author discloses the purpose and grounds for consignation
testimony, gives the experience of such countries as the USA, Estonia and
Kazakhstan. In the article, the author makes proposals on the feasibility of introducing
the institution of consignation of evidence in the criminal process in Uzbekistan.
Keywords:consignation, testimony, witness, victim, evidence, safety, research,
derivative evidence, procedural guarantee, principle of immediacy and oral
investigation of evidence.
In recent years, large-scale reforms have been carried out in the Republic of
Uzbekistan to improve all spheres of life. The Strategy of Action adopted in 2017 in
the five priority areas of the country's development in 2017–20211
is aimed at moving
to a qualitatively new level of development. Among the priority directions of
development of the country, the priority directions of development of the country in
2017–2021 also indicated ensuring the rule of law and reforming the judicial legal
system, aimed at strengthening the true independence of the judiciary and guarantees
reliable protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, improving administrative,
criminal, civil and economic legislation, improving the effectiveness of the system of
combating crime and crime prevention, the full implementation of the principle
adversarial litigation, improving the system of legal aid and legal services.
1
Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of February 7, 2017, No. UP-4947 “On the strategy for further development of the Republic of
Uzbekistan” // Collected Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2017, No. 6, Art. 70, No. 20, Art. 354, No. 23, Art. 448, No. 29, Art. 683, art. 685,
No. 34, Art. 874, No. 37, Art. 982; National database of legislation, 10.16.2017, No. 06/17/5204/0114, 07/31/2018, No. 06/18/5483/1594.
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European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online:https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 743
The Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures
for cardinal improvement of the system of criminal and criminal procedure
legislation”2
(May 14, 2018) was adopted into the framework of the named Strategy.
This Resolution approved the Concept for the improvement of the criminal and
criminal procedure legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Note that in the field of
criminal procedure legislation, the Concept defines the following main areas and
tasks: ensuring effective and reliable protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens,
the interests of society and the state; systematization and harmonization of criminal
procedure legislation; the improvement of mechanisms for the reliable provision of
guarantees of individual rights and freedoms in criminal procedures; introduction of
new forms and procedures of the criminal process.
Among the directions for improving criminal procedural legislation is the need
to improve mechanisms for ensuring reliable guarantees of individual rights and
freedoms in criminal procedures. In this regard, the approved Concept also identifies
such a task as the introduction of the institution for consignation evidence from
witnesses and victims, mainly in cases where it is impossible to interrogate them
later due to objective reasons3
.
What is the institution of consignation? Consider the etymology of this term.
Consignation (translated from English as consign) is used in different semantic
meanings: to depose, overthrow, shift; argue, testify (about something); testify under
oath, etc.4
. In the context of the legal definition, the use of the term “consignation”
means witnessing, giving written evidence against someone under oath, interrogating
a person under oath.5
This is due to the fact that the courts in criminal cases are faced
2
Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 14.05.2018 N PP-3723 "On measures to radically
improve the system of criminal and criminal procedure legislation" // "Collected legislation of the Republic of
Uzbekistan", May 21, 2018, N 20, art. 420
3
The concept of improving the criminal and criminal procedure legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Annex No. 1
to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan 14.05.2018 N PP-3723) // "Collection of Legislation of the
Republic of Uzbekistan", May 21, 2018, N 20, art. 420
4
Consign (remove, overthrow, depose, argue, testify, testify under oath) // https://translate.academic.ru.
5© Mail.Ru, 1999—2013 ABBYY Lingvo © ABBYY 2009, English-Russian Law Dictionary. Consignation: 1) affidavit; oath
testimony 2) adherence to case materials 3) evidence, testimony, statement attached to case files 4) deposition,
overthrow, dismissal • consignation de beneesse - a written testimony of the witness under oath selected in the court
hearing process with the aim of use it as evidence if it is not possible to interrogate the witness orally; consignation in
evidence - admission to the case file as evidence; to take consignation - take the affidavit.
Page 3 of 10
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 05
May 2019
Available online:https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 744
with ensuring the appearance at the court hearing of witnesses for their interrogation
under oath.
The institution of consignation of evidence is familiar to Anglo-Saxon law for
many years. As a rule, such persons as the consignor, his attorney, the judicial
stenographer and other parties to the process, who may be represented in person or by
means of representatives, take part in the consignation process. Each participant in the
process and his lawyer have the right to be at the consignation and ask questions.
Before the beginning of the consignation, the consignee, with the help of the
stenographer, takes the oath that he would have taken if he had testified in court. Then
begins the direct and cross-examination of the consignee, shorthand or otherwise
recorded by the shorthand writer6
.
In certain legal systems, the consignation of evidence, in particular testimony,
is applied in different legal regimes: 1) the consignation of evidence in pretrial
procedures in order to identify evidence in a case; 2) the consignation (storage) of
evidence in order to familiarize them with the court; 3) the consignation of evidence
on the basis of the impossibility of their presentation in court; 4) consignation of
testimony based on the security of the witness.7
The consignation of testimony in criminal cases began on the basis of the
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 1946 (United States). The purpose of the
consignation is to preserve the testimony of the witness for the court when the witness
is unable to testify before the court. Currently, the institution of consignation of
testimony is known by the laws of many European and post-Soviet countries.
Please note that there are doubts regarding the consignation of testimony. So, if
you refer to paragraph “e” part 3 of art. 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights of 1966, this provision regulates that everyone, on the basis of full
equality in the consideration of any criminal charge against him, is guaranteed the
right to interrogate witnesses against them or the right to be interrogated as well as to
have the right to testify and challenge and interrogate his witnesses under the same
6
Avetisyan A.G. Issues of judicial control over pre-trial proceedings. Yerevan: EHU, 2010.
7
Gambaryan A.S. Legal regimes of deposition of evidence (evidence) and their specificity in the criminal process of the
Republic of Armenia // Judicial power and criminal process. - 2016. - No 1. - p. 159.
