As an accused standing trial, you have the right to demand calling witnesses as part of your evidence. You and the prosecution should be given this opportunity under equal conditions.
In order to ensure an effective defence, you have rights to:
- Demand calling witnesses and experts who testify in your favour to a hearing
- Agree not to invite certain witnesses; in such a case, at a later stage you will not be able to claim that your rights to question them have been violated
- Question witnesses and experts who testify against you; read more about the examination of witnesses
You and the prosecution must be given this opportunity under equal conditions.
Relevance of the testimony
The court has a duty to only call those witnesses whose testimony is relevant to your case. Therefore, if you want a certain witness to be called on your behalf, you have to explain to the court why you consider his/her testimony important for the case.
If you have provided good reasons for inviting a witness to the court, but the court has refused to call this witness, it must provide reasons for such refusal. There might also be a violation of your rights if the court has invited an important witness for the prosecution, but has refused to invite an equally important and relevant witness that you have proposed.