Релігійний імунітет у цивільному процесуальному праві України

Abstract

Визначено сутність релігійного імунітету щодо священників як одного з видів імунітету свідка в цивільному судочинстві. Доведено, що сфера державно-конфесійних відносин в Україні, яка побудована на конституційному принципі відокремлення церкви та релігійних організацій від держави, має бути врегульована згідно з нормами законодавства Європейського Союзу, загальновизнаними принципами й нормами міжнародного права та міжнародних стандартів.The author of the paper proves that the sphere of state and confessional relations in Ukraine, which is built on the constitutional principle of separation of the church and religious organizations from the state, should be regulated in accordance with the legislation of the European Union, generally admitted principles and norms of international law and international standards. Witness immunity is currently related to clergymen only in the part that concerns information entrusted to them only during such a sacrament as confession (paragraph 2 of Part 1 of the Art. 70 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine). This restriction is based on the provision of Part 5 of the Art. 3 of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”, according to which no one has the right to demand information from priests that was obtained by them during the believers’ confession. The author of the article states that the provisions on ensuring the confessional privilege (religious immunity in relation to priests) are related only to clergymen, who must officially belong to one or another religious organization (parish, monastery, etc.), whose charter is registered in accordance with the procedure established by law. Besides, it is noted that the provisions on ensuring the confessional privilege (religious immunity in relation to priests) are not applied to all “clergymen” or “clerics”, but only to bishops and presbyters who have the right to perform sacraments, including the confessional privilege. Deacons do not administer any sacraments and rites on their own, but only assist the bishop or the priest. The availability of the right to administer the confessional privilege depends on the hierarchical degree of the priest; The author proves that the legislative approach in regard to the exemption of clergymen from testifying precisely during the confession contradicts to the constitutional principle of equality of all before the law and the court (the Art. 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine). In accordance with the provisions of the indicated constitutional norm, it is prohibited to limit human rights on the basis of religious affiliation. A certain solution to this problem can be the use of the provisions of paragraph 1 of Part 1 of the Art. 69 of the Criminal and Procedure Code of Ukraine of 1960. Clergymen according to those provisions, as a general rule, could not be interviewed as witnesses regarding information entrusted to them or which became known to them in the course of their professional activities. This approach allows solving the identified problems and contradictions on regulating witness immunity of clergymen in civil proceedings.Определена сущность религиозного иммунитета в отношении священников как одного из видов свидетельского иммунитета в гражданском судопроизводстве. Доказано, что сфера государственно-конфессиональных отношений в Украине, построенная на конституционном принципе отделения церкви и религиозных организаций от государства, должна быть урегулирована согласно с нормами законодательства Европейского Союза, общепризнанными принципами и нормами международного права и международных стандартов.