The interrogation of minors, both witnesses and victims, as well as adults victims of specific crimes, which will be characterized below, is conditioned on the basis of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter: CPC) in a manner different from the typical course of this activity.
Article 185a of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals with minors injured by crimes committed with the use of violence or unlawful threats or crimes against freedom (Chapter XXIII of the Penal Code), crimes against sexual freedom and decency (Chapter XXV of the Penal Code) and crimes against family and care (Chapter XXVI). A minor who on the day of the interrogation is under 15 years of age should be interrogated only in a situation where his testimony may be of significant importance for the resolution of the case and, as a rule, only once. These regulations also apply to a minor victim of the above-mentioned crimes, who is 15 years old, but there is a justified fear that that an interrogation in other circumstances could have had a negative impact on his mental state. The interrogation, even in preparatory proceedings, is carried out by the court at a meeting with the participation of an expert psychologist. It is worth noting that
that the prosecutor, the defender and the victim’s representative have the right to participate in the proceedings. The accused who has been notified of the action and does not have a defense counsel of his choice shall be appointed a public defender. Considering that such an interrogation, as a rule, should take place only once, during the main hearing only the recorded image is reproduced and sound of the interrogation, and the minutes are read.
Art. 185b of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that a minor witness of a crime committed with the use of violence or unlawful threat or of an offense specified in chapters XXV and XXVI of the Penal Code, who at the time of the activity is under 15 years of age, is interrogated under the conditions described above and only if his testimony may have significant for the resolution of the case. It should be noted that these provisions do not apply to an assisting witness in the commission of an act or a witness whose act is related to the act for which the criminal proceedings are pending.
Art. 185c of the Code of Criminal Procedure is devoted to victims of crimes specified in Art. 197-199 of the Penal Code, i.e. rape and extortion of sexual activity, sexual abuse of insanity or helplessness, sexual abuse of dependence or critical situation. The victim of the above crimes is interrogated as a witness on the same terms as those described above. An additional regulation states that, at the request of the injured party, it should be ensured that the expert psychologist participating in the activities is of the same sex as the injured person, unless this will hinder the proceedings.
Each of the above-mentioned hearings, in accordance with Art. 185d, should take place in properly prepared rooms at the seat of the court or outside its seat. In the case of hearings of minors, these are rooms with pleasant colors, paintings, photos, toys, tables appropriate to their height. These are rooms equipped with cameras and microphones that collect video and sound from a given activity.
The purpose of the regulations described above is to ensure certain standards that enable victims and witnesses to express themselves freely, to be treated appropriately, and to protect against secondary victimization.
