‘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
‘Victims of domestic abuse should not endure the trauma of being cross-examined by their abusers in court, a national charity has recommended in a study on child deaths.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 20th January 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The neutrality of Professor Stephen Harris, one of the UK’s leading authorities on foxes, has been called into question.’
Daily Telegraph, 4th December 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The High Court was wrong to strike out a claim over unpaid fees brought by a firm of solicitors on the basis of alleged exaggeration and inaccurate sums, without hearing any witnesses, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 9th July 2015
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Lord Dyson for the Court of Appeal has recently reversed the decision of HHJ Bellamy (see my post here) who had ordered legal aid to help an unrepresented father in family proceedings. The conundrum was that the father wanted contact with his children aged 5 and 4, but a 17-year old step-daughter, Y, told her teacher that the father sexually abused her – which the father denied.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 31st May 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Man claimed to have abused former partner’s daughter should not have lawyers’ fees paid by the taxpayer, Government argues.’
Daily Telegraph, 29th April 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The CPS have recently been running a consultation entitled “Speaking to Witnesses at Court”. The consultation period ended on Monday 16th March, and we await their response.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 18th March 2015
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
‘There needs to be a “cultural shift” in the way victims of crime in England and Wales are treated, a panel of criminal justice experts has said.’
BBC News, 24th February 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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