Witness statements in criminal proceeding and evidentiary value

The purpose of the criminal law sistem is to reveal the truth. In this context, the proofs which will be used are evidences. Turkish criminal law sistem embrace the universal principles such as presumption of innocence, fair trial principle and in dubio pro reo. Therefore, people does not have to demonstrate their innocence but accusant and the judicial authority have to prove guilt. When they do this, they use evidence. Witness testimony is one of the oldest and the most referred type of evidence. Witness testimony is important because it comes from the person who sense the crime scene. But, it's human-based nature can also makes it easly corruptible. Because of that, witness testimony is risky and its credibility is disputable. In the first chapter of this thesis proof, evidence and witness testimony in Turkish criminal law sistem are discussed. And the second chapter includes the factors which effect the reliability of the witness testimony.