‘A High Court judge has said he will refuse to allow alleged domestic abusers to cross examine their victims in any future hearings he oversees.’
Law Society's Gazette, 31st May 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Chancellor of the High Court has urged judges to “temper eagerness with restraint” in the way they conduct trials, after a circuit judge was found to have made excessive interventions while witnesses were giving evidence.’
Litigation Futures, 10th April 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘New measures to spare alleged rape victims from facing live cross-examination in court will be rolled out as part of changes being made by the justice secretary.’
The Guardian, 19th March 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘New offence of sexual communication with a child will be introduced, and measures to support victims of sex crimes accelerated.’
Ministry of Justice, 19th March 2017
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
‘Mark Roscoe, barrister of The 36 Group, outlines the provisions which the Government proposes to insert into section 31 of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984.’
Family Law Week, 7th March 2017
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Domestic violence victims will no longer face the threat of being interrogated by their former partners in court under proposed legislation.’
The Guardian, 12th February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A private member’s bill to protect rape victims from being cross-examined in court about their sexual history is to be introduced to the House of Commons.’
The Guardian, 8th February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Rape complainants are being routinely questioned in court about their sexual histories and even the way they were dressed on the night they were attacked, according to a damning dossier of case studies to be presented to MPs this week. The findings have triggered calls for the law to be tightened to protect complainants better.’
The Guardian, 4th February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Justice Secretary has set up an emergency review to find the quickest way to ban perpetrators of domestic abuse from directly cross-examining their victims within the family court system.’
The Guardian, 4th January 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘I have been raising since 2014 the pressing need to reform the way in which vulnerable people give evidence in family proceedings. I have made clear my view that the family justice system lags woefully behind the criminal justice system.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 30th December 2016
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘Guidelines say children and people with learning difficulties should not be subject to unnecessarily harsh questioning.’
The Guardian, 14th November 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘In a unanimous decision, the European Court of Human Rights has held that the proceedings that lead to the conviction of an individual for drug trafficking charges were entirely compliant with Article 6, ECHR. Despite the inability to cross-examine a key prosecution witness, the Court considered that in light of the existence of supporting incriminating evidence (amongst other factors) the proceedings as a whole were fair.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 30th September 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Vulnerable victims and witnesses will no longer have to appear in court under new plans to roll out pre-trial evidence sessions.’
Ministry of Justice, 15th September 2016
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
‘The government must carry out a full review of family courts to stop them being used by violent men to perpetuate abuse against their partners and children, MPs have said.’
The Guardian, 15th September 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Vulnerable victims and witnesses will be able to give their evidence before a trial starts, as part of planned court reforms in England and Wales.’
BBC News, 15th September 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Sex offenders think they’ll get away with it. And often they do. Sometimes it can take years to bring them to justice, while others escape retribution altogether. So how do you go about making sure perpetrators of horrendous crimes committed in the distant past are caught and convicted?’
BBC News, 20th June 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Mark William Patrick MacLennan v Her Majesty’s Advocate, [2015] HCJAC 128. The High Court has refused an appeal under Article 6 on the lack of effective cross-examination of child witness, but has provided interesting commentary on how such investigations could be better handled in future to meet Strasbourg standards.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd February 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
© Inner Temple Library 2017