The right not to testify against oneself is one of the basic constitutional rights in the Russian legal order, but the mechanism for the operation of this right in civil and arbitration proceedings remains unspecified today. The actual situation leads to the fact that any attempts to demand evidence from a procedural opponent may be blocked. The author analyzes the provisions of Anglo-Saxon law, where the privilege against self-incrimination arose, and concludes that the Russian legislator incorrectly reciprocated this institution, giving it a broader interpretation.