ONLINE INTERROGATION OF WITNESSES AND VICTIMS MAY BE PUT INTO PRACTICE

A draft law that contains an initiative to interrogate witnesses, victims, specialists and experts by means of online-conferences has been submitted for consideration to the lower house of parliament. The amendment provides for the creation of a new article 189.1 in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. If the bill is passed, the conduct of interrogations in criminal law may become virtual.

Senators Andrey Kutepov and Valery Ponomarev are the authors of the initiative.

In justifying the need to introduce a norm, they named the situation when a witness of a crime left the place of its commission and investigation, and the investigator needed additional time and financial costs to find him and interrogate.

In addition, it is much more convenient for a law enforcement officer to carry out investigative actions if all the necessary materials are in front of his eyes. Among the arguments, there is also an example of online interrogation of witnesses in the framework of judicial consideration of criminal cases.

This opportunity saves time and allows meeting the established procedural deadlines.

The new measure may be applied in a situation where the person being interrogated is not able to appear in person at the investigating authority, or it is inappropriate to conduct an interrogation at the location.

From the subtleties of the documentation, it is known that the interrogation protocol must be drawn up at the location of the interrogated and sent to the investigator on the same day.

The Russian government has already supported this initiative.