Mechanisms of formation of witness immunity in civil proceedings

The article examines the issue of immunity of a witness in civil proceedings in view of the current legislation, which became the basis for the formation of the status of a witness in a civil court case. The author examines the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Civil Code of Ukraine, and other laws of Ukraine, which establish provisions on the protection and realization of the subjective rights and private interests of a person on general grounds and cannot be violated during the implementation of any legal relations, including civil procedural ones. Provisions of international normative acts regarding the protection of private interests of a person during civil proceedings are also taken into account. The article emphasizes that the role of the witness in civil proceedings is important in the formation of the evidence base during the trial, while the performance of the tasks of civil proceedings should not create a threat of negative consequences for the person, his relatives and relatives related to the spread information with limited access. The article states that the immunity of a witness in civil proceedings is exercised either through the right of the witness to refuse to testify, or through the court’s duty not to allow interrogation of persons performing official or professional activities regarding the types of information, the list of which is provided for by procedural legislation. In order to find out the reasons for establishing the specified list of types of information, the legislation that defines the types of information with limited access, which cannot be disclosed on the basis of mandatory norms or can be disclosed only with the permission of the person to whom it concerns, was studied. The article also analyzes the expressed positions of scientists regarding the role of a witness in civil proceedings and the status of a witness, which is characterized by the presence of witness immunity. Based on the presented material, the author concluded that witness immunity is a means of ensuring the protection of the private interests of a person who, as a witness, has the duty to provide information in court.