Denunciation

denunciation

1. Law obsolete a charge or accusation of crime made by an individual before a public prosecutor or tribunal

2. a formal announcement of the termination of a treaty

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Denunciation

 

(in international law) the refusal of one party to an international treaty to fulfill the terms of the treaty, which entails its termination. As a rule, the right of denunciation is provided for in the treaty itself, as are the conditions thereof.

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Denunciation

 

(1) A false accusation made against someone.

(2) In Soviet law, testimony by the accused (defendant), victim, or witness that falsely accuses another person of committing a crime.

Unlike a false report, a denunciation can only be made during an interrogation at agencies of preliminary investigation or in court. A denunciation may be made against any person regardless of whether criminal proceedings have been instituted against the person. It may result from a bona fide error (a mistake in evaluating the actions of the person about whom testimony is given or an incorrect interpretation of facts), or it may be testimony known to be false. Only a denunciation known to be false, given by a witness or victim, is punishable.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.