The case for and against video-recorded cross-examination for serious sexual offences
The cross-party Justice Committee examines the government’s decision to increase the use of video-recorded cross-examination to many more witnesses in cases involving rape and other serious sexual offences.
Meeting details
Video evidence involves lawyers cross-examining witnesses and the film then being played in court. The process was introduced with the aim of making the giving of evidence less intimidating. It also allows victims of serious sexual abuse to give evidence more quickly after an alleged offence has been committed - not waiting for the case to come to trial - so aiding recall of events.
However, some lawyers have argued that video evidence may be less compelling than in-person testimony. Others say that the use of video evidence, effectively involving a ‘trial within a trial’, will only add to the already long backlogs of all cases – not just sexual abuse cases - coming to court. The session will examine these arguments and look at the way the Ministry of Justice made its decisions on video evidence. The Government published an evaluation of pre-recorded cross-examination in April this year, and its key findings will be examined.
The session also examines the Law Commission’s recent consultation on proposed reform to evidence in sexual offence prosecution cases, which was published in May. The Committee will speak to Professor Penney Lewis, from the Law Commission, who is responsible for the project. The Law Commission was asked by the government to examine the way rape cases are tackled - including the use of evidence such as the victim’s sexual history and medical records.