Rule 179 – Duties of witnesses

1. Witnesses who have been duly summoned shall obey the summons and attend the oral hearing. 2. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, if a witness who has been duly summoned fails to appear before the Court or refuses to give evidence or to make the declaration referred to in Rule 178.1, the Court may impose upon him a pecuniary sanction not exceeding EUR50.000 and may order that a further summons be served at the witness’s own expense. 3. Nobody shall be obliged to sign a written witness statement or to give evidence at an oral hearing if he is a spouse, partner equal to a spouse under applicable national law, descendant, sibling or parent of a party. A witness may also refuse to answer questions if answering them would violate a professional privilege or other duty of confidentiality imposed by the national law applicable to the witness or expose him or his spouse, partner equal to a spouse under applicable national law, descendant, sibling or parent to criminal prosecution under applicable national law. 4. The Court may decide to report to the competent authorities of the Contracting Member States whose courts have criminal jurisdiction in case of the giving of false evidence on the part of a witness.