Reputation witness
A witness of good repute appears before a court , an authority or another relevant body in order to testify on the person of a party to the proceedings and to give a (mostly positive) testimony about his / her reputation . An expression of value about a person's personality is made without direct reference to certain process-relevant facts. By confirming the integrity, the social esteem, the good reputation or the reputation of the person concerned, the aim is to work towards a favorable outcome of the proceedings. This can be done, for example, in the sense of exonerating a defendant in criminal proceedings , the overall assessment of a prisoner, the confirmation of the credibility of a witness or the confirmation of the suitability of an applicant for a public or spiritual office . In civil proceedings , the party leading a repute witness promises to improve their chances of winning the legal dispute . Reputation witnesses are often appointed in custody proceedings in which, for example, there is a dispute over the handling of a child or the surrender of a child.
In Germany, the testimony of repute must be heard personally by the court during the criminal hearing and the testimony must not be read out ( Section 256 StPO).
A certificate of good repute was also used to refer to a certificate of good conduct from which it emerged that there was nothing disadvantageous against the person concerned.
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- ^ Certificate of good repute , in: Rechtslexikon.net. 10,000 legal terms explained in detail. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
