Is false testimony a crime?

The witness who lies in a trial commits a crime of false testimony that is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine.

Article 458 Penal Code punishes the crime mentioned above with prison sentences and a fine, differentiating whether the false testimony has been given by the witness in a civil or criminal trial, aggravating the sentence if it is in a criminal trial.

In order for the witness to be convicted of lying in court, it must be shown that he did it to harm, either to help the accused if we are in a criminal proceeding or to one of the parties in litigation when we are in a civil proceeding.

What is the penalty for perjury in a civil trial?

If the witness is participating in a civil lawsuit, the punishment will be imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years, and, in addition, a fine of 3 to 6 months.

When the witness partially omits the truth (expressing inaccuracies or silencing facts or relevant data that were known to him), he will be punished with a fine of 6 to 12 months and suspension from employment or public office, profession or trade, of 6 months to 3 years.

What penalty will fall to the witness who lies in a criminal trial?

If the witness lies in a criminal trial, the punishment will be imprisonment from 1 to 3 years, and also a fine of 6 to 12 months.

In the event that the declarant tells the truth incompletely, he will be punished with a fine from 6 to 12 months and, when appropriate, suspension from employment or public office from 6 months to 3 years.

We want to specify that, in the case of a criminal trial, the defendant can lie or not tell the truth, because in this case he has primacy the right to defend himself. In conclusion, you cannot be convicted of this type of crime. However, this will not apply to persons who appear to testify as defined in article 461 of the Penal Code.

It is becoming easier to persecute the witness who lies in a trial, due to the technological advances installed in the courts, through the audiovisual recording of the trials, they allow us to observe the trail of evidence when proceeding against the falsity manifested by the witness. during the trial.

We also want to point out that the recording of a conversation as evidence can be used against the witness.

So the witnesses have to be very careful with their manifestations, and do not come forward to mislead by friendship or family relationships.