Mutual information meeting on the legislative framework, The Attorney General of the Republic, George Savvides, and the Assistant Attorney General, Savvas Angelides, had a meeting today with the second Lord Justice Clerk of the Supreme Court of Scotland, Lady Dorrian.
According to a statement by the Legal Service, during the meeting, which took place this morning at the Attorney General's Office with the participation of officials from the Criminal Section of the Legal Service and Anastasia Papadopoulou, President of the "Voice" Council, Mr. Savvidis informed about the legislative framework of Cyprus and the practices applied in relation to the taking of testimony from children and vulnerable persons in order to protect them and not to re-victimize them in the context of criminal court proceedings.
Particular reference was made to the "Children's House" and its essential contribution to encouraging and supporting children as witnesses and/or victims in criminal cases, both by Mr Savvidis and by Lady Dorrian, who described the "Children's House" as a model.
Lady Dorrian in turn discussed the amendments to Scottish law, which she had been instrumental in introducing, which have brought about significant changes to the way in which children's evidence is currently taken by a "Commissioner" who is a Magistrate.
Testimony is taken well in advance of the hearing where the children's memory is still fresh by means of visualisation, both the main examination and cross-examination.
The "Commissioner" ensures that questions are understandable and age-appropriate for the children.
According to the statement, a very substantive and fruitful discussion ensued in relation to these two systems of protection and treatment of young witnesses, during which best practices, challenges and ways to further strengthen the system and procedures were identified.
Both Mr. Savvidis and Lady Dorrian stressed the importance of speedy and efficient adjudication of such cases in a manner that ensures both the protection of children and the conduct of a fair trial.
The Attorney General thanked Lady Dorrian and Ms. Papadopoulou for the visit and the constructive discussions that followed.
Source: KYPE
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