The right not to testify against oneself: balancing the legal guarantees of the citizen and the interests of the state authorities

The balance of legal guarantees of a citizen and the interests of state bodies is possible on the basis of a correct, uniform understanding and interpretation of the constitutional rights of citizens, including those enshrined in Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Based on the analysis of the criminal procedure law and the positions of scientists, the article presents a vision of the definition of "witness immunity" and its components; the classification of witness immunity is designated, the content of the given types is disclosed. The article reflects the modern understanding of scientists regarding the possibility of forced receipt of samples for comparative research, the grounds and conditions for this activity. The analysis of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation made it possible to determine that obtaining samples for comparative research from a suspect or accused is an action during which a person is not forced to testify against himself within the meaning of Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, does not make statements about his guilt and does not present any evidence. It is concluded that the results of obtaining voice samples of a suspect or accused in a criminal case by conducting operational-search activities using covert audio recording after his refusal to give samples in accordance with Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation will be recognized as not complying with the requirements of the law; alternative methods of action in this situation will be proposed.