Summons for questioning

A summons is not yet a charge, but it is already criminal proceedings. Almost everything else on this page depends on the status in which you are summoned. What follows is a general orientation, not advice on your case.

Witness and suspect are different statuses

The rights and duties of a witness are defined by Article 66 of the «Кримінальний процесуальний кодекс» (the code of criminal procedure); the persons who may not be questioned as witnesses — by Article 65; the rights of a suspect, including the right to a defence counsel and to a meeting with the defence counsel before the first questioning — by Article 42. The guarantee of the right to a defence is named among the general principles of the proceedings in Article 20.

The status in which a person is summoned is part of the mandatory content of the summons (повістка) — Article 137 of the same Code. That provision also covers the name of the proceedings, the procedural act, the time and place, the consequences of non-appearance and the valid reasons for it.

The right not to incriminate yourself

A person bears no liability for refusing to give testimony or explanations concerning themselves, members of their family or close relatives — Article 63 of the Constitution of Ukraine. In criminal proceedings this is restated as a separate principle — freedom from self-incrimination and the right not to testify against close relatives and family members — Article 18 of the code of criminal procedure. A witness’s right to refuse such testimony is named in Article 66 of the same Code.

Two offences of the Criminal Code stand side by side: knowingly false testimony — Article 384; a witness’s refusal to give testimony — Article 385. Article 385 also contains a separate provision on when a person is not liable for such a refusal. How these provisions bear on your status and your case is a question for the advocate, not for a web page.

The summons and non-appearance

A summons by the investigator or the prosecutor during the pre-trial investigation is governed by Article 133 of the code of criminal procedure; the procedure for summoning — by Article 135; confirmation that the summons was received, or its content learned by other means — by Article 136. The means of summons is not confined to a paper notice: the list in Article 135 is broader.

The valid reasons for non-appearance are listed in Article 138; the consequences of non-appearance — in Article 139; compelled appearance (привід) — in Article 140. Whether a reason was valid and whether the summons was carried out in the manner of these Articles is a matter for separate assessment, and the advocate makes it.

The questioning itself

The procedure of questioning, its duration and breaks, and what is explained before it begins — Article 224 of the code of criminal procedure. The particular rules for questioning a young child or a minor — Article 226.

What testimony is, and on what conditions a court may base its findings on it, is defined by Article 95; the inadmissibility of evidence obtained through a substantial violation of human rights and freedoms — Article 87. This is the side of questioning that becomes visible later — in court.

What to do

1. Call an advocate

   Before the day of the summons, not after the questioning. The first thing the advocate will establish is your status and how the summons is confirmed.

2. Keep the summons

   The paper, the envelope, the date and the way it arrived. If you were summoned by telephone or by e-mail, write down who called, when, and what was said.

3. Do not go alone

   The right to the legal assistance of an advocate while giving testimony is named in Article 66 of the code of criminal procedure for a witness and in Article 42 for a suspect.

4. Read the whole record

   The right to read the record of the questioning (протокол) and to move for changes, additions and remarks to be entered in it is named in Article 66.

What you must not do

1. Do not prepare a “version” beforehand

   Not with relatives, not with colleagues, not with anyone summoned in the same case.

2. Do not agree to a conversation “off the record”

   What is said outside a procedural act will not be in the record. That does not mean it was not said.

3. Do not set out the circumstances in writing through an outside channel

   Neither a messenger nor a form on a website is meant for that.

What to read next

• A situation where decisions are measured in minutes, not days: A search is under way
• The stages of the proceedings and what is decided at each: Criminal defence Full legal analysis is published in Ukrainian.