Description
This is an account of the civil and criminal rules affecting children in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland reviewing them in the light of the findings of psychologists and social scientists and makes proposals for reform. There have been many important developments which include hearsay evidence which has become freely available in civil proceedings involving children in both England and Scotland; videotapes of earlier interviews which have become admissible in criminal proceedings in England; in Scotland the law has been changed to allow the whole of a child’s evidence in a criminal case to be taken ahead of trial on commission; there has been a wave of popular concern about “ritual abuse” and among psychologists there is increasing concern about both “repressed” and “implanted” memories. Professor John Spencer is a Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge and has taught evidence and procedure for many years. Rhona Flin is a research psychologist who has written extensively on the subject of children’s evidence. An outline of the English and Scottich legal systems; the concept of evidence; the competency requirement; the accusatorial system; the rule against hearsay; videotapes; corroboration; expert assistance; a criticism of the basic rules of evidence; a review of the psychological evidence; investigative interviews with children; stress; the evidence of children in other legal systems; proposals for reform.
