Investigation On The System Of Witnesses Testifying In Court Under Online Litigation

At present,the system for witnesses to testify in court under China’s online litigation is mainly stipulated in the "Online Litigation Rules of the People’s Courts".However,with the in-depth development of online litigation,the relevant provisions of the Rules can no longer meet the practical needs of judicial practice,and it is difficult to solve many problems encountered in judicial practice,which need to be further explored and developed.The appearance of witnesses to testify plays an important role in civil proceedings,not only for ascertaining the facts of the case in civil proceedings,but also for the requirements of openness and procedural justice in trials and the principle of direct speech.With the advancement of science and technology and the construction of smart courts,online litigation is deeply combined with the traditional witness testimony system,which makes the traditional witness testimony system radiate new vitality and show new characteristics.As a new thing in the development of the times,the birth of this system will inevitably have an impact on the traditional testimony system and profoundly affect the development process of civil litigation in China.Based on China’s current normative basis and judicial practice,the practical difficulties faced by the witness testimony system under online litigation mainly include four aspects: insufficient pretrial review,risks and challenges faced by the rules of isolated testimony,restrictions on the exercise of the party’s right to cross-examine evidence,and hidden dangers in the information security of witnesses.In the face of these problems,they can be solved by improving the Online Litigation Rules of the People’s Courts and innovating judicial practice paths.As far as the lack of necessary pretrial review is concerned,it mainly includes two issues: lack of protection of identity verification and lack of review of the reasonableness of testimony methods,which can be regulated by clarifying the way to re-verify the identity of witnesses,building a cross-regional collaborative authentication mechanism,and protecting the right of opposition of parties and witnesses themselves.Regarding the lack of review of the reasonableness of the method of testimony,in the pretrial conference,the choice of the method of testimony by the parties and witnesses can be based on the court’s interpretation of the nature,complexity,and evidence of the case,and the court has the right to review and decide on the final method of testimony.As far as the risks and challenges encountered by the rules of isolated testimony are concerned,it should be considered that targeted solutions should be introduced in different trial modes and according to their own characteristics.The restrictions on the exercise of the right of cross-examination by the parties in non-synchronous testimony should be considered in conjunction with the rules for the exercise of the right of cross-examination and the characteristics of the procedure for appearing in court to testify in non-synchronous court.As far as the hidden dangers of witness information security are concerned,online litigation is carried out by relying on information technology,so information security is the most worrying issue for litigation participants,and it can be regulated from four aspects,such as breakthroughs in technical means,the principle of purpose limitation,the refinement of the connection mechanism for information protection,and the standardization of the behavior of personnel participating in the trial,so as to eliminate witnesses’ worries about testimony as much as possible,increase witnesses’ enthusiasm for testifying,and then help judges find out the truth of the case and give full play to the role of witness testimony.