Witness immunity in criminal proceedings as an indicator of the maturity of the legal system

Witness immunity, that is, the right of persons expressly referred to in the criminal procedure law to refuse to testify about circumstances, is considered in the special literature as one of the criminal procedure institutions, relating to the procedural status of the witness or the rules for his or her interrogation. Purpose: to demonstrate that the list of persons having witness immunity and the legal characteristics of the circumstances to which they are entitled not to testify, and the general rules for interrogating such persons, and exceptions to these general rules are indicators of the level of development of the national criminal procedure and legal system of a particular State. Methods: the author uses the methods of structural-system analysis and synthesis, comparative jurisprudence. The author's comparative analysis of Russian and German criminal procedure law clearly demonstrates the social and economic conditionality of the methods of securing witness immunity and the possibility of international exchange of law enforcement experience. The main conclusion from the study is the following: the legal significance of the criminal procedural institution of witness immunity goes far beyond the actual criminal procedure, and this institution has significant dynamics, reflecting changes in the socio-economic and political life of society.