Witness in criminal procedure

We can define criminal procedure as an effort, by a Public Prosecutor or a judge who hasn?t seen the incident, to reach a conclusion through animating the incident as if writing a movie script with the help of the evidence gathered. However, this animation is usually done a long time after the real incident and after many tangible elements directly related to the incident have or have been changed. It is at this point that the Public Prosecutor or the judge confronts with the factor of argumentation, and direct evidence makes up the most important part of this factor. One of the most important parts of direct evidence is the declaration of a person who witnessed the incident with his/her five senses. The statement from an impartial and credible witness helps the Criminal Court the most in revealing the material fact. Yet, because the witness is human and he/she may err, because of external factors and personal factors, whether willingly or unwillingly, his/her statement could be reflected differently in the Criminal Court. Thus, the judge has to dispute the credibility and impartiality of the statement of the witness and evaluate the statement accordingly.Witnessing is guaranteed by the 12. and 14. articles of the Constitution under the scope of a citizen?s duties and responsibilities to the society. Basic regulations on Witnessing in the light of Constitutional provisions can be found in Turkish Criminal Procedure Code in article 43 and following articles. Witnessing is a compulsory public duty. As it is a public duty, while the witness is performing this duty by attending Criminal Court activities, he/she is considered a public officer. Therefore any unlawful acts committed against this witness because of his duty, will be punished with sanctions accordingly. There are many regulations in the national legislation and European Convention on Human Rights with respect to protecting the witness. The effect of the witness on fair judgement and his/her importance thereof is increasing.