PROBLEMS INVOLVING RECORDS OF TESTIMONY บทความวิทยานิพนธ์

Abstract

            Currently, Thai courts use a record of testimony format of allowing trial judges to hear witness testimony, then summarize the content, adding new words to reorder events and eliminate extraneous terms for the sake of brevity. Then witness testimony is recorded in the judge’s own words, known as “catching the meaning,” insofar as previously, trial judges believed that witnesses responded inaccurately to questioning. But a record of testimony made from witness accounts (verbatim record) may result in a lack of clarity and trial delays. However, records of testimony created by allowing trial judge to catch the meaning is problematic, affecting the proceedings and inconsistent with several judicial principles, such as the need to pause testimony from time to time to summarize it. As a result, trial proceedings become discontinuous and time-consuming for each witness to be examined, violating the principle of a speedy trial. Intermittent proceedings may cause judges to lose concentration and lack opportunities to observe witness behavior in support of oral testimony. The main problem is that this form of testimonial record is often highly subjective, in part dependent on varying individual judicial ability for notation and exercising discretion in recording testimony. It has been observed that such an approach may distort witness accounts, not recording actual witness testimony, but instead presenting testimony from judges themselves. 

            This article focuses on patterns, methods, and practical problems arising from this format of testimonial record. An international comparative legal study was made of systems for recording testimony in courts of France, Japan, the United States of America, and New Zealand. The goal is to suggest approaches to contextualize Thai court judicial processes. In addition, draft regulations by the President of the Supreme Court on digital recording of testimony were evaluated to determine criteria and methods for recording testimony in audio and video versions, useful for weighing evidence in support of fair trials.