legal provision
Article 28 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates:
A judge, a prosecutor or an investigator shall withdraw in any of the following circumstances, and the parties and their legal representatives also have the right to ask them to withdraw:
(3) Having served as a witness, expert witness, defender or agent ad litem in this case;
Therefore, the law clearly stipulates that judges, prosecutors and investigators who have served as witnesses, experts, defenders and agents ad litem in criminal cases should withdraw. The specific reasons are as follows:
reason
Anyone who has served as a witness, expert witness, defender or agent ad litem in this case can prejudge the case. It is objectively difficult to engage in litigation activities, and these situations should be avoided.
Witness, expert witness, defender and agent ad litem often have their own roles. For example, there are "prosecution witnesses" and "defense witnesses" abroad, and defenders and litigation agents are to protect the legitimate rights and interests of clients. These characters have their own internal positions, and there is no guarantee that they can treat the case objectively and fairly.
Judges, prosecutors and investigators all belong to dispute solvers in a sense, and dispute solvers should not be biased to support or oppose one party. On the contrary, we should prevent prejudgment and eliminate prejudice. As a dispute solver, if he is both a witness and a defender, he can't guarantee the neutrality of his position. Objectively, it is difficult to engage in litigation activities.
Therefore, judges, prosecutors and investigators who act as witnesses, experts, defenders and agents ad litem in criminal cases should withdraw.