General Part

SECOND SECTION
THE COURTS AND THE PARTIES TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Chapter X
OTHER PARTIES TO THE CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Article 94. Circumstantial witness

94.1. A person who has no personal interest and who is summoned to participate of his own accord in the investigation in the circumstances covered by Articles 236, 244 and 246 of this Code, in order to confirm the substance, course and outcome of the facts, may be referred to as a circumstantial witness. Persons who are employees of the preliminary investigating, investigating or prosecuting authorities or the courts, who are under age, who are not citizens of the Azerbaijan Republic, who are parties to the criminal proceedings or close relatives of parties, and those who have visual, hearing or speech disabilities or who suffer from a mental illness may not be circumstantial witnesses in a criminal case. A person called as a circumstantial witness shall be able to comprehend fully and correctly events that occurred in his presence.

94.2. A circumstantial witness shall fulfil the following duties in accordance with this Code :

94.2.1. to attend as required by the prosecuting authority ;
94.2.2. to disclose all relationships to the parties to the criminal proceedings at the request of the prosecuting authority ;
94.2.3. to comply with the instructions of the person carrying out the investigative procedure ;
94.2.4. during the investigative procedure in which he takes part, to follow events carefully, and not to leave the place where the procedure is taking place ;
94.2.5. to sign the record of the relevant procedure and refuse to sign it if his observations are not reflected in the record ;
94.2.6. not to divulge information about the investigative procedure in which he is participating or about facts disclosed during it without the permission of the prosecuting authority ; not to divulge information about circumstances relating to the inviolability of private and family life or state, professional, commercial and other secrets ;
94.2.7. to fulfil the other duties provided for in this Code.

94.3. A circumstantial witness shall be liable under the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic for violations of the law in the fulfilment of his duties.

94.4. A circumstantial witness shall exercise the following rights in accordance with this Code :

94.4.1. to participate in the relevant investigative procedure from beginning to end ;
94.4.2. to acquaint himself with the record of the investigative procedure in which he has taken part, and to require the inclusion of the necessary facts in the appropriate record ;
94.4.3. when acquainted with the relevant investigative measures and the record, to raise objections ;
94.4.4. to sign the record only if he understands it ;
94.4.5. to be reimbursed for costs incurred in the criminal proceedings and receive compensation for damage incurred as a result of unlawful acts by the prosecuting authority ;
94.4.6. to exercise the other rights provided for in this Code.


Article 95. Witnesses

95.1. A person who is aware of any important circumstances may be summoned and questioned as a witness by the prosecution during the investigation or the court hearing and by the defence during the court hearing.

95.2. The following persons may not be called or questioned as witnesses :

95.2.1. those who because they are under age or because of their physical or mental disabilities cannot understand and testify about the matters to be investigated in the criminal proceedings ;
95.2.2. lawyers who have information relating to the criminal proceedings in connection with their legal services as defence counsel ;
95.2.3. persons who have information relating to the criminal proceedings in connection with their participation therein as representative of the victim, civil party or defendant to the civil claim ;
95.2.4. except in cases where there have been deficiencies or misuse of power during the criminal prosecution, where the case is reopened because of newly discovered facts or where a lost case file is restored, the judge, jurors, prosecutor, preliminary investigator, investigator or clerk of the court who have exercised their procedural responsibilities in connection with the criminal proceedings.

95.3. Defence counsel and persons who have information on the criminal case in connection with their participation as representatives of the victim, civil party or defendant to the civil claim may testify in favour of the person they are defending or whose rights they represent, with that person’s consent. This shall preclude the subsequent participation of those persons in the criminal proceedings.

95.4. The witness shall fulfil the following duties in accordance with this Code :

95.4.1. to attend and participate in the investigation and other procedures as required by the prosecuting authority and to answer questions fully and correctly on all facts known to him ;
95.4.2. to confirm the accuracy of his testimony by signing the record of the investigative or other procedure ;
95.4.3. to present items, documents and samples for comparative examination at the request of the prosecuting authority ;
95.4.4. to be examined at the request of the prosecuting authority ;
95.4.5. if there are strong grounds for doubting his ability to comprehend and testify, to undergo an outpatient medical examination at the request of the prosecuting authority in order to verify those abilities ;
95.4.6. to comply with the instructions of the preliminary investigator, investigator, prosecutor and court president ;
95.4.7. to be at the disposal of the court, not to go elsewhere without the permission of the court or without notifying the prosecuting authority of his whereabouts ;
95.4.8. not to leave the courtroom or the court building without the permission of the president before a break is announced ;
95.4.9. to comply with the rules of court ;
95.4.10. to fulfil the other duties provided for in this Code.

95.5. If the witness does not fulfil his duties, he shall incur liability under the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic.

95.6. The witness shall exercise the following rights in accordance with this Code :

95.6.1. to know for which criminal case he is called ;
95.6.2. to object to the interpreter participating in his interrogation ;
95.6.3. to make requests ;
95.6.4. to refuse to testify or present documents or information against himself or his close relatives ;
95.6.5. while testifying, with the permission of the prosecuting authority, to use documents relating to complicated mathematical calculations, numerous geographical names and other information difficult to memorise, and to refer to notes written during the incident or immediately afterwards ;
95.6.6. to accompany his testimony with drawings, diagrams and pictures ;
95.6.7. to write his testimony down during the pre-trial proceedings ;
95.6.8. to acquaint himself with the record of the investigative and other procedures in which he takes part, as well as the part of the record of the court hearing relating to him, and to require inclusion of the necessary appendices and observations in the record, for the accuracy and completeness of the testimony ;
95.6.9. to be reimbursed for the costs incurred during the criminal proceedings and to receive compensation for damage incurred as a result of unlawful acts by the prosecuting authority ;
95.6.10. to recover the items and originals of official documents taken by the prosecuting authority as material evidence or on other grounds ;
95.6.11. when investigative and other procedures take place, to be represented ;
95.6.12. to exercise the other rights provided for in this Code.