1, unable to appear in court due to health reasons: if the witness has health reasons, even if it is a legal obligation to testify, the court will not ask too much, and will consider the health reasons of the witness;
2. Unable to appear in court because of the long distance and inconvenient transportation: the long distance will not only bring trouble to witnesses, but also be a big trouble to the court and the parties. After all, it is inconvenient to give evidence and it is difficult to coordinate the time. Therefore, if the court finds that the witness has this situation, it will consider ways such as allowing the witness to testify online;
3. Unable to appear in court due to force majeure such as natural disasters;
4. Others who cannot appear in court for justified reasons: Therefore, in court proceedings, it is the principle for witnesses to testify in court, and the exception is not to appear in court.
To be a witness in a lawsuit, there are four conditions:
1 is to know part or all of the situation. Knowingly knowing a case refers to a person who directly perceives the case with his own sensory organs such as eyes, ears, nose and tongue. The perception here is direct perception, not indirect perception of listening and speaking.
2, can correctly express the will. For example, a person who is physically and mentally defective or young and cannot express his will correctly cannot be a witness. A witness is a person who makes relevant statements to the court about the case he knows. Therefore, this requires the witness to have certain language expression ability in order to truly and clearly express the perceived facts of the case.
3, can correctly understand the legal consequences of testifying;
4. It is a third person other than the party concerned.
The above four items are inseparable. As long as you have these four items at the same time, you can become a witness in civil litigation regardless of nationality, gender and education level. However, as a judge, juror, expert witness, bailiff, translator and lawyer in the trial of civil litigation cases, you can't be a witness of the case at the same time, because that will lead to role conflict, which is not conducive to the realization of the principle of justice and the maintenance of litigation procedures. As a party to a case, it is directly related to the case.
To sum up, finally, in principle, witnesses should testify in court in civil proceedings, but considering special circumstances, the people's court will allow these special witnesses to testify in written testimony, video, audio-visual materials and so on. Neither the participants in the case nor the judge can be the parties to the case.
Legal basis:
Article 76 of the Civil Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC)
Upon notification by the people's court, the witness shall testify in court. Under any of the following circumstances, with the permission of the people's court, written testimony, audio-visual transmission technology or audio-visual materials may be used to testify:
Unable to appear in court for health reasons;
(2) Being unable to appear in court due to long distance and inconvenient transportation;
(3) Unable to appear in court due to force majeure such as natural disasters;
(four) other legitimate reasons can not appear in court.