Saturday 18 October, 14.00 until 15.30, Pit Theatre, Barbican Legal Challenges
In 1999, the then home secretary, Jack Straw, said he was ‘determined to ensure that (victims’) needs are placed at the very heart of the criminal-justice system’. Much of the reform in the criminal-justice system since then has focused on improving the rights of victims in the courtroom. The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 for the first time allowed ‘vulnerable’ complainants to give evidence from behind a screen or over a video link. Many have pointed out how excessive cross-examination of complainants can make the experience of attending a trial unnecessarily traumatic, and have sought to place greater limits on what can and can’t be asked. This year, Labour has appointed Keir Starmer, the former director of public prosecutions, to advise on a new ‘Victims’ Law’, which Starmer says will ‘recast the criminal-justice system as a criminal-justice service fit for victims’.
Although this trend has been welcomed by many as a reversal of a tradition which cast victims as ‘mere observers’ to criminal proceedings, some have raised concerns about the impact on the rights of defendants. A defendant is often reliant on the robust questioning of complainants to undermine the evidence against them. The more the court seeks to accommodate the emotions of the victim, the less it is focused on its proper role as an objective arbiter for finding the truth.
Should the criminal-justice system be ‘recast’ as a ‘criminal-justice service’ for victims? What would the impact of this be on the position of the defendant in the courtroom? Are these reforms a sensible shift away from the unwelcoming and clinical courtrooms of the past, or are we at risk of undermining the objectivity of our courtrooms altogether?
Listen to the debate:
Samantha Cohen
barrister, Chambers of Anthony Berry QC, 9 Bedford Row; experienced advocate in questioning vulnerable witnesses; prosecutes and defends in cases involving allegations of sexual assaults |
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John Fitzpatrick
professor of law and director, Kent Law Clinic, University of Kent, Canterbury |
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Sally Fudge
barrister, Furnival Chambers |
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Barbara Hewson
barrister, Middle Temple; writer and commentator |
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Luke Gittos
criminal lawyer; director of City of London Appeals Clinic; legal editor at spiked; author, Why Rape Culture is a Dangerous Myth: From Steubenville to Ched Evans |
Crime victims in England and Wales are to be given legal rights for the first time, the justice secretary has said.
BBC, 14 September 2014Justice isn't just about sentencing: it's about encouraging victims to come forward in the first place. Labour's planned law will help
Keir Starmer, Guardian, 6 April 2014