Definition of False Testimony

The false testimony is a criminal figure in the legal framework. The fundamental idea of ​​false testimony is not to tell the truth about something and, therefore, to lie. Normally, the person who commits this crime is a witness in a trial and his falsehood or lie is punished by the law.

The crime of perjury in some countries is punishable by a fine or even imprisonment if the lie is related to a criminal offense.

If someone must testify at trial and withhold relevant information he may also be committing a crime of perjury. The person implicated for saying something uncertain or hiding information is not only the witness of a trial but may also be an accomplice who in some way participates in the elaboration of a lie.

False testimony is contrary to moral duty

Being sincere and telling the truth is a way of acting according to a principle moral. It could be said that human beings maintain a general criterion regarding the truth: telling the truth is desirable and the opposite is undesirable. From a moral point of view, false testimony is considered as an action that goes against the

confidence mutual that must exist between people. Consider the hypothetical case in which the false testimony was valued as normal and reasonable. If so, we would be legitimizing lies and falsehoods as rule from conduct acceptable.

If morality rejects false testimony, it is logical that the right keep this same criterion. However, in some circumstances false testimony may have a moral justification. Imagine that someone is forced to lie in court because he is receiving threats or decides to falsify a testimony because telling the truth would mean causing harm to another person. These types of examples highlight that in certain situations the falsity of a testimony can cause an ethical dilemma.

In the religious context

Not only do morals and the law disapprove and penalize false testimony, but it is also valued negatively from some religious approaches. In the religion Christianity, specifically in the ten commandments, it is expressly said "you shall not bear false witness or lie". This command makes sense from the perspective Christian, since God wants men to tell the truth above all else.

On the other hand, we must not forget that the idea of ​​truth is key to understanding any human situation. In some way, the truth is sought from personal religious beliefs, from the point of view of law or in the process of scientific knowledge. Opposing the tendency to tell the truth and bear false witness is consequently upsetting order and harmony in some way.

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