Vulnerable Witnesses: the Changing Landscape of a Criminal Trial

CPD Seminar - 28 June 2018

Event Pass Information

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Date 28/06/2018
Time 06:00 pm - 08:45 pm
Price $66
Quantity
Catering: Includes Drinks & Canapés

Chair: Ian Hill KC
Presenter: Rishi Nathwani and Rosalind Avis
Compulsory Field: Substantive Law
CPD Units: 1
Venue Monash University Law Chambers,555 Lonsdale Street,Melbourne,3000

Summary

From 1 July 2018, the way vulnerable witnesses give evidence in Victoria will dramatically change with the introduction of Intermediaries and Ground Rules Hearings.

The way in which practitioners question and handle child witnesses/those with a cognitive impairment will be restricted and previous practices no longer tolerated.

Professional Intermediaries, whose function is purely to facilitate the communication of vulnerable witnesses, will be present in court to assist the vulnerable person and provide reports in advance setting out the limitations of the questioning of the witness. The use of intermediaries follows P Redlich JA's comments in Ward v The Queen [2017] VSC 37 and also the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Sexual Offences.

Victoria will be adopting procedures used in other jurisdictions, such as NSW, New Zealand and the UK. This talk is aimed at introducing the new scheme and suggesting some tactics when involved in cases that will necessitate an intermediary.