In John 5:39-40 we see a dividing line being drawn over the proper interpretation of “the Scriptures” between the Jewish leaders of the first century and the early Christians of the Johannine community. Both parties agreed that “searching the Scriptures” was essential; however, the two groups disagreed about the nature with which one was to “search the Scriptures” and how one was to possess or lay hold of this eternal life. “The Jews” viewed eternal life as a birthright that was maintained by rigorous study of the law and strict observance of its principles. The study of the law became an end in itself. The Christians of the Johannine community, on the other hand, believed that eternal life was only granted as gift when a person comes to the one of whom the Scriptures testified, Jesus Christ. Eternal life was neither a birthright nor something that could be merited, but rather a gift given to those who truly “search the Scriptures” and truly see the one who they are written of. This disagreement between the Johannine community and the first century Jewish leadership is a reflection of the division between Jesus and the Jewish leaders during his day as well as a reflection of the division between Christians and Jews in our day. But perhaps more importantly, it is a reflection of the complacent attitude that pervades much of the church today. The words of this passage are a warning or wake-up call to us all. We must be careful not to presume that eternal life is ours because of any merit or association. We must be careful to search “the Scriptures” with our eyes wide open and without presuppositions that will hinder of from discerning its true meaning. But most importantly, we must look to the one of whom these “Scriptures” testify, Jesus Christ. If we truly want to live, as we assume all men do, then we must do what is necessary to inherit eternal life. We must heed the words of “the Scriptures” and we must heed Jesus’ words: we must come to Jesus who alone is the source of eternal life. This begins and ends with proper interpretation of the Word of God. / Dissertation (MA (New Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / New Testament Studies / MA / unrestricted

Extant transitional justice literature examining processes and functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia have traditionally looked at the output and outcomes from an institutional level of analysis and have neglected to examine how the witness feels about his or her own participation in the process. This project provides deeper perspective from the individual level of analysis based on sequential phases of the testimony process lifecycle: the reason the witness decided to participate with the tribunal, the psychological effect of the testimonial process, and the satisfaction the witness had about their own contribution to the ICTY. I expound upon existing findings and confirm survivors of sexual assault testify more from personal reasons than out of altruistic motivations. I further examine the two competing theories that dominate the discussion of how the testimonial process normatively effects a witness and find demonstrable evidence to confirm either. I create and confirm an explanatory theory that addresses patterns of emotional states both prior to and after completion of testifying, providing a theoretical explanation of negative emotions reported by witnesses both before and after testifying. I also confirm that witnesses who identified being motivated to testify out of an obligation reported a stronger belief that their testimony helped contribute to finding justice while witnesses who participated seeking internal or personal closure believed their participation helped the tribunal establish the truth about the wars in the former Yugoslavia. These findings and information can help to inform best practices for future tribunal services as well as assist victim and witness policies.

This study was conducted with the aim to research guidelines for uniformed members, detectives, and public witnesses, for use in testifying in court. The researcher reviewed relevant literature, both national and international, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the research problem. The researcher conducted the research on the basis of an empirical design, be-cause it involved going out into the field and ascertaining the personal experiences and knowledge of the participants. The explicit design was considered the most suitable for this research, because the researcher put everything in the open by checking the weak points and the strong points regarding testifying in court. This means that everything was made open, even police testimony. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Syftet med studien var att med kvalitativ forskningsmetod undersöka vilka tankar och attityder individer ur civilsamhället som varit utsatta för eller bevittnat ett brott och sakkunniga inom rättsväsendet har kring fenomenet anonyma vittnen. Vi ämnade även undersöka om en tillämpning av anonyma vittnen i svenska domstolar skulle förändra respondenternas syn på sin egen benägenhet att vittna. Slutligen undersökte studien om respondenterna upplevde att rättssäkerheten skulle komma att påverkas om det svenska rättsväsendet skulle tillåta anonyma vittnen. Tio personer intervjuades, varav hälften var anställda av rättsväsendet och hälften var civila utanför rättsväsendet. Intervjudatan analyserades med tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att respondenterna från civilsamhället i stort var positiva till att fullfölja sin vittnesplikt så länge det inte fanns någon hotbild. Förekom det en hotbild skulle de endast kunna tänka sig att vittna anonymt. Resultatet visade vidare att majoriteten av respondenterna från rättsväsendet ansåg att rättssystemet var eftersatt när det kom till att bekämpa den grova och organiserade brottsligheten. Några respondenter menade att anonyma vittnen kunde vara en väg att gå för att göra samhället mer rättssäkert då vittnesplikten i vissa fall spelat ut sin roll. Resultatet visade även att både respondenter från civilsamhället och rättsväsendet ansåg att det fanns utmaningar i praktiken med en tillämpning av anonyma vittnen. Båda grupperna kunde peka på både rättspsykologiska och juridiska fördelar och nackdelar med anonyma vittnen.Slutsatsen är att anonyma vittnen kan göra att benägenheten att vittna ökar från civilsamhällets sida. Det finns en möjlighet att anonyma vittnen kan göra samhället både mer rättssäkert och mindre rättssäkert. Det är ett ämne som bör undersökas mer noggrant genom att väga både fördelar och nackdelar. / With the help of a qualitative research method the purpose of the study was to analyze the thoughts and attitudes of the general public (who have been exposed to/or witnessed a crime) as well as experts in the judicial system, regarding the phenomenon of anonymous witnesses. We also intended to examine whether an application of ‘anonymous witnesses’ in Swedish courts would make the respondents more or less inclined to testify. Finally, the study would examine whether the respondents felt that legal certainty would be affected if the Swedish judicial system allowed anonymous witnesses. Ten people were interviewed, half of whom were employees of the judiciary and half were civilians outside the judiciary. The interview data was analyzed with thematic analysis. The result showed that the general public was positive to testify as long as there was no threat scenario. If there was a threat scenario, they would only consider testifying anonymously. The result also showed that the majority of respondents from the judiciary felt that the legal system was neglected when it came to fight the major and organized crime. Some argued that anonymous witnesses could be an approach to make society more legally certain as the obligation to testify in some cases no longer is needed. The results also showed that both respondents from the general public and the judiciary considered it to be a challenge when using anonymous witnesses in practice. Both groups could point to both psychological and legal benefits and disadvantages of anonymous witnesses.The conclusion is that anonymous witnesses can make the general public’s propensity to witness increase. There is a possibility that anonymous witnesses can make society both more legally certain and less legally certain and it should be subject to closer examination by weighing both advantages and disadvantages against each other.

Teisė nekaltinti savęs, apimanti draudimą versti duoti parodymus prieš save, savo šeimos narius ar artimus giminaičius - tai kiekvieno asmens konstitucinė garantija, užtikrinanti žmogaus ir valstybės santykių suderinamumą šiandieninėje konstitucinėje visuomenėje sprendžiant teisingumo klausimus. Asmuo turi teisę apginti save ir savo artimuosius nuo bet kokio pobūdžio ar sunkumo kaltinimo. Nemo tenetur se ipsum accusare principas kildinamas iš žmogaus orumo principo ir teisės į laisvą asmens vystymąsi, todėl šis principas turi būti aiškinamas neatsiejamai nuo kitų konstitucinių principų ar nuostatų, susijusių su teisingumo, draudimo piktnaudžiauti valdžia samprata, nukentėjusiųjų nuo nusikalstamų veikų bei kitų proceso subjektų interesų apsauga. Magistro baigiamajame darbe pateikiama teisės nekaltinti savęs analizė kitų konstitucinių principų kontekste. Skirtingose šalyse draudimo versti duoti parodymus prieš save principo, taikomo siekiant apsaugoti įtariamųjų ir liudytojų procesinius interesus, veikimo mechanizmas nėra vienodas. Priklausomai nuo baudžiamųjų procesinių santykių konstrukcijos bei nuo šiuose santykiuose vyraujančio teisinio reguliavimo metodo ir teisinio proceso principų, šios garantijos pobūdis ir apimtis skirtingose baudžiamojo proceso teisės doktrinose vertinami nevienodai. Tačiau, tiek bendrosios, tiek kontinentinės teisės sistemose draudimas versti duoti parodymus prieš save ar savo artimą vertinamas kaip valstybės nustatytas imunitetas, apsaugantis nuo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The right of non-self-incrimination, that includes prohibition to compel to give evidence against oneself, family members or close relatives - is every person's constitutional guarantee to ensure human and public relations compatibility in today's constitutional society, dealing with justice issues. A person has the right to defend himself and his relatives from any type or severity of accusation. Nemo tenetur se ipsum accusare principle derived from the principle of human dignity and the right to the free development of the individual. Bearing this in mind, this principle must be interpreted through other constitutional principles or provisions relating justice, concept of prohibition of power abuse, interests protection of victims and other entities of process. Master's thesis provides the analysis of the right of non-self-incrimination in the context of other constitutional principles. In different countries the mechanism of functioning of the principle of the prohibition to compel to give evidence against oneself, applicable in order to protect suspects and witnesses interests in proceedings, is not the same. Depending on the criminal procedural relations structures and prevailing legal regulation method in these relations, the legal process principles, the nature and scope of this guarantee is treated differently in various criminal law doctrines. However, in both common and civil law systems the prohibition to compel to give evidence against oneself and family members... [to full text]

The researcher identified in her work as a social worker that sexually abused adolescents experience difficulties with testifying in court. The goal of this research was directed at developing guidelines to assist adolescents who have to testify in court. The researcher utilised the qualitative research approach with an exploratory and descriptive nature. Semi-structured interviews were done with a sample of adolescents who have testified in court, a sample of parents or caregivers of adolescents who have testified in court and social workers working with adolescents who testify in court. These interviews were conducted to gain insight into how the research participants experienced the court process in order to formulate guidelines for adolescents who have to testify in court. The researcher concluded that adolescents experience testifying in court as negative. Guidelines were developed from the information obtained from the research participants to support adolescents who has to testify in court. / Social work / M.Diac. (Play therapy)

The researcher identified in her work as a social worker that sexually abused adolescents experience difficulties with testifying in court. The goal of this research was directed at developing guidelines to assist adolescents who have to testify in court. The researcher utilised the qualitative research approach with an exploratory and descriptive nature. Semi-structured interviews were done with a sample of adolescents who have testified in court, a sample of parents or caregivers of adolescents who have testified in court and social workers working with adolescents who testify in court. These interviews were conducted to gain insight into how the research participants experienced the court process in order to formulate guidelines for adolescents who have to testify in court. The researcher concluded that adolescents experience testifying in court as negative. Guidelines were developed from the information obtained from the research participants to support adolescents who has to testify in court. / Social work / M.Diac. (Play therapy)