Judicial Evaluation of Testimonial Evidence in Russian Civil Proceeding

Testimonial evidence is among the most widespread evidentiary facts and methods of receipt of information, necessary for the correct permission of matter, in civil proceedings throughout all historical development of domestic and foreign civil proceedings. The testimonial evidence can be used by consideration practically of any categories of affairs and serves for the establishment of the numerous facts. However there are difficulties connected with well-founded distrust to the testimonial evidence, doubt in the truthfulness of the reported data, based on the possible actual interest of witnesses as result, are frequent a case of the skeptical relation to this type of proofs. Besides, a considerable impact is exerted by the rule of admissibility of proofs which sets restrictions on the use of the testimonial evidence. One of the greatest challenges the judicial evaluation of testimonial evidence in Russian civil proceeding has ambiguous character and requires a complex research for identification of methods of the problem resolution in this sphere in practice taking into account domestic and foreign experience (English and USA). The aim of this research is to fulfill the actual regulation and theory in judicial evaluation of testimonial evidence in Russian civil proceeding. There we have framed the most significant tasks that help to achieve the aim of the research: a) to analyze the past and present Russian regulation of testimonial evidence in Russian law system; b) to analyze the history of testimonial evidence in Russia and foreign country; c) to reveal the evidentiary value of testimonial evidence in Russian civil proceeding; d) to analyze the reliability problems of testimonial evidence in Russian civil proceeding. On the basis of the research, problems of the reliability of testimonial evidence in Russian civil proceeding were revealed, and possible options for improving legislation to combat perjury were suggested.