Lying in court: from distrust to illegitimacy

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of lying, i. e. conscious distortion of facts, and its consequences for the resolution of civil cases by courts. Particular attention is paid to the study of lies of persons who have a legal interest in the outcome of the case, taking into account that under the current approach of the legislator such a lie does not entail legal responsibility for them. The article substantiates the necessity of extending the application of the concept of perjury also to interested persons in terms of reporting to the court of information about the circumstances of the case, as well as the need to develop a mechanism for the professional community to respond to the lies of judicial representatives; the article suggests a number of measures for the prevention of lies; some of them are related to improving the level of communicative competence of judges.