Testimony as a means of proof in criminal procedure law (comparative of Islamic and current law)

In criminal proceedings, witness evidence is one of the most frequently used evidences in order to prove the cases claimed by the parties. In this study, the place of witness evidence in Islamic criminal procedure law and the current criminal procedure law is examined separately, and it is tried to reveal how these two legal systems organize such an important means of proof within the framework of their own internal dynamics and what value they attribute to it. In Islamic criminal procedure law, according to the majority of scholars, witness evidence is considered as conclusive evidence. This means that in the Islamic law doctrine, the testimony given by reliable witnesses in accordance with the procedure is binding on the judge and the judge is obliged to give a verdict accordingly. The binding nature of witness evidence presented in accordance with the conditions of Islamic law has led to the meticulous determination of the conditions for being able to testify and even the establishment of the institution of tazkiya in order to investigate the reliability of witnesses. In the current criminal procedure system, witness evidence is among the discretionary evidences. Therefore, the judge is not bound by the witness statements taken during the trial and can freely form the verdict he/she will give at the end of the trial. However, the judge is obliged to explain which evidence he/she relied on or did not relied on and why in his/her decision at the end of the case.