The Interaction Between Children's Developmental Capabilities and the Courtroom Environment: The Impact on Testimonial Competency
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- [1] The case of R v. Peter Ellis in Christchurch, New Zealand involved young children in a creche, who made disclosures of sexual abuse and ritual abuse by Mr. Ellis. Mr. Ellis was convicted in 1994, and most recently criticisms were leveled at the way in which the matter was investigated by police and social services. An inquiry was held to determine whether Mr. Ellis had been convicted on unreliable children's evidence.
- [2] (e.g. The Pigot Committee Recommendations, 1988; The Report of the Advisory Group on Video Evidence, Home Office, 1989; and the Memorandum of Good Practice by the Home Office in 1992 in England: the Melamed Committee report on sexual offences against minors in Israel (1987): the Scottish Law Reform Commission 1990, the Oath Amendment Act (1990) in Australia, the Irish Law Reform Commission, 1990; the New Zealand Evidence Amendment Act, 1989).
- [3] The survey was conducted by Nick Bala and his colleagues at Queens University. In 1999, surveys were sent out to judges, in an effort to understand how s. 16 inquiries were conducted. Survey results can be obtained at http://queensuca/law/witness.htm
Figure 1 : Factors which influence the testimonial performance of child witnesses
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