WITNESS ANONYMITY IN RUSSIAN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
The paper is devoted to the value of theoretical and practical research of the admission of anonymous testimony. The authors prove that the most perspective approach is to combine anonymous testimony with the right of the accused to be confronted with witnesses for the prosecution as guaranteed by the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Keeping witnesses secret, i.e. keeping the information on their personalities secret from the accused and the counsel, is possible under the effective criminal procedure legislation of the Russian Federation as a measure of ensuring their safety. The biggest legal problem associated with the introduction of this measure is that the use of anonymous testimony considerably erodes the rights of the accused for defense. That is why it is only reasonable that witness anonymity and the admission of such testimony should be dependent on extra criteria in comparison with ordinary testimony. The authors analyze the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights that determine such criteria and prove the necessity of bringing the norms of Russian Criminal Procedure Code in accordance with them.