Criminalization of Witness Tampering in Penal Legislation: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The obligation of a witness to provide truthful testimony before the judiciary، under penalty of law، requires legislators to protect against any attempts to influence their testimony. False information presented by a witness during their testimony before the judge can mislead justice، obstruct its course، and result in rulings that contradict reality and truth. Therefore، this study seeks to examine the stance of comparative penal legislations on the criminalization of tampering and their punitive policies in this regard.

To address this issue، the descriptive analytical comparative methodology was employed by examining the position of criminal legislation، which varied in this regard. The study explores the positions adopted by different penal legislations، which differ in this regard. Some criminalize witness tampering through independent provisions with specific penalties، while others criminalize witness tampering by incorporating it under perjury or bribery-related offenses. While other legislations have overlooked criminalizing tampering with witnesses through special provisions، instead criminalizing it by means of public means.

The study concludes that it is important to establish penal provisions that protect the integrity of justice from any possible distortion caused by witness tampering، establishing penalties commensurate with the act committed، in line with the French legislator and the legislation that followed its approach. Alternatively، the legislation may refer the penalty to similar crimes such as perjury or bribery، similar to the Egyptian legislation، rather than only criminalizing the witness tampering by public means، as is the case in Jordanian legislation.