Identifying persons present and taking personal data of witnesses and victims

The chair of the judicial panel initiates the main hearing by stating the case and identifying the persons present (judicial panel, state attorneys, attorneys, defendant(s), injured party(ies), witnesses, experts - the law does not prescribe the order of identifying the persons present). If a participant in the proceedings (judge, state attorney, defence attorney or defendant) doesn’t appear for the hearing, the hearing will be postponed, but there are certain situations (especially in summary proceedings) when the main hearing can take place without specific persons (except for the judge). One can always ask a judge if the hearing will be postponed, for example, if the defendant doesn’t arrive. 
 
After identifying the witnesses present, the chair of the panel calls on one of the witnesses to stay in the courtroom to give evidence, while others leave the courtroom and wait in the waiting room of the Victim and Witness Support Department until they are called to the courtroom to give evidence. 
 
Witnesses are questioned individually, without the presence of other witnesses. Depending on the conditions in court, a witness either sits or stands at the witness stand while giving testimony.