The phenomenon of psychological reliability of the testimony of a minor participant in criminal proceedings

Abstract

This article provides a justification for the insolvency of the phenomenon of psychological reliability of the testimony of a minor participant in criminal proceedings in the light of current legislation and the existing level of scientific development. The study contains an analysis of the proposed concepts of psychological reliability, as well as foreign experience in their application.

The main reason for the illegality of the appointment and production of expert examinations of the reliability of the testimony of minors is that the expert is not classified by the criminal procedure law as a subject of evidence assessment. In addition, the results of investigative actions cannot be the subject of expertise within the meaning of the norms of Federal Law No. 73-FZ “On State Forensic expertise in the Russian Federation”.

The conclusions based on the results of the reliability examinations cannot be called justified due to the lack of a sufficiently developed scientific and practical base for such studies.

The authors present a legally acceptable and effective form of using special knowledge in the process of forming, using and evaluating the testimony of juvenile participants in criminal proceedings. It is proposed to identify the individual psychological characteristics of a minor through expert research in order to further take these results into account by appropriate assessment subjects when deciding on reliability.