Under s 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, vulnerable witnesses and intimidated witnesses can video record their cross-examination, which is then presented at the trial without the witnesses needing to attend. The House of Commons Justice Committee wants to hear from lawyers and other interested parties about the experiences of witnesses, victims, defendants and juries.
Piloting of s 28 began in 2019 in three early adopter courts: Leeds, Liverpool and Kingston-upon-Thames. In December 2021, former Justice Secretary Dominic Raab announced his intention to roll out s 28 nationally for the intimidated cohort, which completed in 2022.
Sir Bob Neill, chair of the Justice Committee, said: ‘Earlier this year we heard compelling evidence from barristers that there are real problems with how s 28 is working. Now we want to gather more evidence to put to the government to see if the situation can be improved for everyone.’
Submit written evidence by 6 December here.
