Criminal Justice
(Evidence of Children) (Jersey) Law 2002
A LAW to consolidate the provisions
of the Criminal Justice (Evidence and Procedure) (Jersey) Law 1997 and
certain provisions of the Children (Jersey) Law 1969 concerned with the
giving of evidence of children and certain other persons by means of television
links and video recording, the presence in court of children under the age
of 17 at the trial of other persons, the conduct of proceedings where the
victim is a child, the giving of unsworn evidence by children and other related
provisions involving children and other persons.
Commencement [see endnotes]
1 Interpretation
In this
Law –
“statement”
includes any representation of fact, whether made in words or otherwise;
“video recording”
means any recording, on any medium, from which a moving image may by any means
be produced and includes the accompanying sound-track;
“witness”
means a person who is not the accused or one of the accused in criminal
proceedings.[1]
2 Evidence
through television links
(1) A
person to whom this Article applies may, with the leave of the court, give
evidence through a live television link in any criminal proceedings if the
accused is charged with –
(a) an
offence which involves an assault on, or injury or a threat of injury to, a person;
(b) an
offence under –
(i) Article 35
of the Children
(Jersey) Law 2002,
(ii) the Sexual Offences
(Jersey) Law 2018, or under a provision of
an enactment or customary law repealed or abolished by that Law,
(iii) Part 10
of the Mental Health
(Jersey) Law 2016, or Article 37 or 38
of the Mental Health (Jersey) Law 1969 (if the offence is alleged to have
been committed before the repeal of that Law), or,
(iv) the Protection of
Children (Jersey) Law 1994;
(c) a
customary law offence of indecent assault, indecent exposure, or outraging
public decency; or
(d) an
offence which consists of attempting or conspiring to commit, or of aiding,
abetting, counselling, procuring or inciting the
commission of, an offence falling within sub-paragraphs (a) to (c).[2]
(2) This
Article applies to a –
(a) witness
who is a child; and
(b) witness
who is a patient within the meaning of the Mental
Health (Jersey) Law 2016 and capable of
giving evidence.[3]
(3) Article 3(10)
shall apply for the purposes of this Article as it applies for the purposes of
that Article, but with the omission of the references to a person being, in the
cases there mentioned, under 15 years of age or under 18 years of age.
3 Video
recordings of testimony from child witnesses and other witnesses
(1) In
any proceedings in connection with an offence referred to in Article 2(1)
the court may give leave to allow a video recording to be given in evidence of
an interview which –
(a) is
conducted between an adult and a witness described in Article 2(2)(a) or
(b); and
(b) relates
to any matter in issue in the proceedings.[4]
(2) Subject
to the exercise of any of its powers to exclude evidence
which is otherwise admissible, the court shall give leave under paragraph (1)
unless –
(a) it
appears that the witness will not be available for cross-examination;
(b) any
rules of court requiring disclosure of the circumstances in which the recording
was made have not been complied with to the satisfaction of the court; or
(c) it
considers that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, in the
interests of justice the recording ought not to be admitted.[5]
(3) Where
the court gives leave under paragraph (2), it may, if it considers that in
the interests of justice any part of a recording ought not to be admitted,
direct that that part shall be excluded.
(4) In
considering whether any part of a recording ought to be excluded under
paragraph (3), the court shall consider whether any prejudice to the
accused, or one of the accused, which might result from the admission of that
part is outweighed by the desirability of showing the whole, or substantially
the whole, of the recorded interview.
(5) Where
a video recording is admitted under this Article the witness –
(a) shall
be called by the party who tendered it in evidence;
(b) may,
with the leave of the court, be examined in chief on any matter which, in the
opinion of the court, has been dealt with in his or her recorded testimony.[6]
(6) Any
statement made by the witness which is disclosed by a video recording given in
evidence under this Article shall be treated as if given by that witness in
direct oral testimony.[7]
(7) Any
statement referred to in paragraph (6) shall be admissible evidence of any
fact of which such testimony from the witness would be admissible.[8]
(8) No
statement referred to in paragraph (6) shall be capable of corroborating
any other evidence given by the witness.[9]
(9) In
estimating the weight, if any, to be attached to a statement referred to in
paragraph (6), regard shall be had to all the circumstances from which any
inference as to its accuracy or otherwise can reasonably be drawn.
(10) In
this Article “child” means a person who –
(a) in
the case of proceedings specified in Article 2(1)(a) (or in sub-paragraph (d)
of that paragraph where the principal offence is one specified in sub-paragraph (a)
of that paragraph), is under 14 years of age or, if the person was under that
age when the video recording was made, is under 15 years of age; or
(b) in
the case of proceedings specified in Article 2(1)(b) or (c) (or in
sub-paragraph (d) of that paragraph where the principal offence is one
specified in sub-paragraph (b) or (c) of that paragraph) is under 17
years of age or, if the person was under that age when the video recording was
made, is under 18 years of age.
(11) Nothing
in this Article shall prejudice the admissibility of any video recording which
would be admissible apart from this Article.
4 Prohibition
on persons under the age of 17 being present in court during the trial of
other persons
Except by leave of the
court, no person under the age of 17 years (other than an infant in arms)
shall be permitted to be present in court during the trial of any other person
charged with an offence, or during proceedings preliminary thereto, except
during such time as his or her presence is required as a witness or otherwise
for the purpose of justice; and any child present in court when under this
Article he or she is not permitted to be there shall be ordered to be removed.
5 Power
to clear court while person under the age of 17 is giving evidence in
certain cases
(1) Where,
in any proceedings in relation to an offence against, or any conduct contrary
to, decency or morality, a person under the age of 17 years is called as a
witness, the court may direct that all or any persons, not being –
(a) members
or officers of the court or parties to the case, their advocates or solicitors
or persons otherwise directly concerned in the case; or
(b) bona fide
representatives of newspapers, news agencies or sound or television
broadcasting companies,
be excluded from the court
during the taking of the evidence of that witness.
(2) The
powers conferred on a court by this Article shall be in addition and without
prejudice to any other powers of the court to hear proceedings in camera.
6 Power
to proceed with case in the absence of person under the age of 17
Where in any proceedings
with relation to any of the offences mentioned in the Schedule to this Law, the
court is satisfied that the attendance before the court of any person under the
age of 17 years in respect of whom the offence is alleged to have been
committed is not essential to the just hearing of the case, the case may be
proceeded with in the absence of that person.
7 Extension
of power to take deposition of person under the age of 17
(1) Where
the Bailiff is satisfied by the evidence of a registered medical practitioner
that the attendance before the court of any person under the age of 17
years in respect of whom any of the offences mentioned in the Schedule to this
Law is alleged to have been committed would involve serious danger to the
person’s life or health, the Bailiff may direct that the deposition of
the person be taken on oath in accordance with the Loi (1853)
concernant la rédaction
des dépositions and the depositions shall be
admissible in evidence in the proceedings with relation to the offence either
for or against the accused person without further proof thereof.
(2) In
this Article “registered medical practitioner” has the same meaning
as in the Medical
Practitioners (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1960.
8 Evidence
given by children
(1) Evidence
of a child in proceedings against any person for any offence shall be given
unsworn.
(2) A
statement of unsworn evidence of a child may be taken for the purposes of
proceedings against any person for any offence as if that evidence had been
given on oath.
(3) Evidence
of a child shall be received unless it appears to the court that the child is
incapable of giving intelligible testimony.
(4) If
any child whose evidence is received unsworn in accordance with paragraph (1)
wilfully gives false evidence in such circumstances that the child would, if
the evidence had been given on oath, have been guilty of perjury, the child
shall be liable to be dealt with as if he or she had been convicted of an
offence punishable in the case of an adult with a fine of level 1 on the
standard scale.[10]
(5) In
this Article, “child” means a person under 14 years of age.
9 Cross-examination
of alleged victims
(1) No
person who is charged with an offence referred to in Article 2(1) shall
cross-examine in person any witness who is –
(a) alleged
to be a person against whom the offence was committed or to have witnessed the
commission of the offence; and
(b) a
person to whom Article 2 applies, or is to be
cross-examined following the admission under Article 3 of a video
recording of testimony from the person.
(2) Article 3(10)
shall apply for the purposes of this Article as it applies for the purposes of
that Article, but with the omission of the references to a person being, in the
cases there mentioned, under 15 years of age or under 18 years of age.
10 Power to make
Rules
Rules may be made in the
manner prescribed by the Royal Court
(Jersey) Law 1948 to make such
provision as appears to the Superior Number of the Royal Court to be necessary
or expedient for the purposes of this Law.
11 Citation
This Law may be cited as
the Criminal Justice (Evidence of Children) (Jersey) Law 2002.