Niqabs in the witness box: yes or no? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 8th, 2013 in criminal justice, freedom of expression, juries, news, witnesses, women by tracey

“Niqab-wearing defendants should be obliged to remove their veils before giving evidence say 90% of my colleagues in a poll conducted by the Bar Council for The Times (although personally I’d like to see what the participation rate was for that). Former justice secretary, Ken Clarke, agrees, likening wearing a full-face veil in the witness box to giving evidence ‘in a bag’. The Lord Chief Justice says that trial judges should be able to decide whether a defendant may give evidence wearing a face-veil or not, but promises to provide guidance.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th November 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk