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S.C.E.
Amendment Paper as at
Tuesday 29th June 1999
STANDING COMMITTEE E
YOUTH JUSTICE AND CRIMINAL EVIDENCE BILL [LORDS]
NOTE
The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Order of the Committee [25th May], as follows:—
Clauses 1 to 13, Schedule 1, Clauses 14 to 47, Schedule 2, Clauses 48 to 58, Schedule 3, Clauses 59 to 61, New Clauses, New Schedules, Clauses 62 to 65, Schedules 4 to 7, Clause 66.
Mr Paul Boateng
26
Clause 41, page 30, line 7, leave out 'other than' and insert 'but excluding (except in section 40(3)(c)(i) and (5)(a))'.
Mr Paul Boateng
27
Clause 42, page 30, line 35, after 'court' insert '(but in the absence of the jury, if there is one)'.
Mr Paul Boateng
28
Clause 42, page 30, line 36, leave out 'decision to give, or refuse,' and insert 'reasons for giving, or refusing,'.
Mr Paul Boateng
74
Clause 43, page 31, line 19, leave out 'when a minor shall while that person' and insert 'shall while he'.
Mr Paul Boateng
75
Clause 43, page 31, line 24, leave out from beginning to 'cease' in line 28.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr David Lidington
Mr John Greenway
83
Clause 43, page 31, line 27, after 'offence', insert 'or
(ab) do not apply unless a court having or most likely to have jurisdiction in relation to proceedings arising from the alleged offence is satisfied on an application made for that purpose by or on behalf of a person referred to in subsection (2) who is not a person by whom the offence is alleged to have been committed and having regard to the particular circumstances of the case that the interests of justice, the interests of the person who is a minor and the public interest in relation to freedom of expression are better served by the application of subsection (2) than by not applying it to the particular case.'.
Mr Paul Boateng
76
Clause 43, page 31, line 32, leave out from 'to' to end of line 40 and insert—
'(a) a person by whom the offence is alleged to have been committed; or
(b) if this paragraph applies to the publication in question by virtue of subsection (4A)—
(i) a person against or in respect of whom the offence is alleged to have been committed, or
(ii) a person who is alleged to have been a witness to the commission of the offence;
except that paragraph (b)(i) does not include a person in relation to whom section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 (anonymity of victims of certain sexual offences) applies in connection with the offence.
(4A) Subsection (4)(b) applies to a publication if—
(a) where it is a relevant programme, it is transmitted, or
(b) in the case of any other publication, it is published,
on or after such date as may be specified in an order made by the Secretary of State.'.
Mr Paul Boateng
77
Clause 44, page 33, line 13, leave out 'when a minor'.
Mr Paul Boateng
78
Clause 44, page 33, leave out lines 40 to 42.
Mr Paul Boateng
81
Schedule 2, page 59, line 24, leave out from beginning to 'paragraph' in line 27 and insert—
'13.—(1) Section 7 (application of Act to courts-martial) is amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (1) (Act to apply with modifications where in pursuance of armed forces law a person is charged with an offence to which the Act applies), after "applies" insert "by virtue of section 2(1)".
(3) In subsection (2) (modifications with which Act applies to courts-martial)—
(b) for paragraph (c) substitute—
"(c) in section 3(1) any reference to a judge, in relation to the person charged with the offence, shall be read as a reference to the judge advocate appointed to conduct proceedings under section 3(1) relating to the offence (whether or not also appointed to conduct other preliminary proceedings relating to the offence)";
(c) in paragraph (d), for "court" substitute "judge advocate appointed to be a member of the court-martial"; and
Mr Paul Boateng
84
Clause 49, page 39, line 27, leave out subsection (9) and insert—
'(8A) In this section—
"an appropriate person" means (subject to subsections (8B) to (8D))—
(a) in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, a person who is a parent or guardian of the protected person, or
(b) in Scotland, a person who has parental responsibilities (within the meaning of section 1(3) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) in relation to the protected person;
"guardian", in relation to the protected person, means any person who is not a parent of the protected person but who has parental responsibility for the protected person within the meaning of—
(a) (in England and Wales) the Children Act 1989, or
(b) (in Northern Ireland) the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
(8B) Where the protected person is (within the meaning of the Children Act 1989) a child who is looked after by a local authority, "an appropriate person" means a person who is—
(a) a representative of that authority, or
(b) a parent or guardian of the protected person with whom the protected person is allowed to live.
(8C) Where the protected person is (within the meaning of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995) a child who is looked after by an authority, "an appropriate person" means a person who is—
(a) an officer of that authority, or
(b) a parent or guardian of the protected person with whom the protected person is allowed to live.
(8D) Where the protected person is (within the meaning of section 17(6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) a child who is looked after by a local authority, "an appropriate person" means a person who is—
(a) a representative of that authority, or
(b) a person who has parental responsibilities (within the meaning of section 1(3) of that Act) in relation to the protected person and with whom the protected person is allowed to live.'.
Mr Paul Boateng
85
Clause 49, page 39, line 43, leave out 'subsection (9)' and insert 'subsections (8A) to (8D)'.
Mr Paul Boateng
94
Clause 51, page 40, line 43, leave out 'meaning given by section 49(9)' and insert 'same meaning as it has for the purposes of section 49'.
Mr Paul Boateng
95
Clause 52, page 41, line 8, after 'not' insert 'a person who is'.
Mr Paul Boateng
86
Schedule 3, page 61, line 40, at end insert—
'( ) an offence which is—
(i) created by regulations made under any such rules, and
(ii) designated for the purposes of this subsection by such regulations;'.
Mr Paul Boateng
87
Schedule 3, page 61, line 41, after 'section' insert '1,'.
Mr Paul Boateng
88
Schedule 3, page 61, line 42, leave out 'otherwise than in judicial proceedings'.
Mr Paul Boateng
89
Schedule 3, page 62, line 18, at end insert—
'( ) an offence which is—
(i) created by regulations made under any such rules, and
(ii) designated for the purposes of this subsection by such regulations;'.
Mr Paul Boateng
90
Schedule 3, page 66, line 31, after 'regulations;' insert—
'( ) an offence which is—
(i) created by regulations made under any such rules, and
(ii) designated for the purposes of this paragraph by such regulations;'.
Mr Paul Boateng
91
Schedule 3, page 67, line 8, after 'regulations;' insert—
'( ) an offence which is—
(i) created by regulations made under any such rules, and
(ii) designated for the purposes of this paragraph by such regulations;'.
Mr Paul Boateng
92
Schedule 3, page 67, line 9, after 'Article' insert '3,'.
Mr Paul Boateng
93
Schedule 3, page 67, line 10, leave out 'otherwise than in judicial proceedings'.
NEW CLAUSES
Removal of restriction on use of evidence from computer records
Mr Paul Boateng
NC2
To move the following Clause:—
'. Section 69 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (evidence from computer records inadmissible unless conditions relating to proper use and operation of computer shown to be satisfied) shall cease to have effect.'.
Special provisions relating to child witnesses
Mr Paul Boateng
NC3
To move the following Clause:—
'.—(1) For the purposes of this section—
(a) a witness in criminal proceedings is a "child witness" if he is an eligible witness by reason of section 16(1)(a) (whether or not he is an eligible witness by reason of any other provision of section 16 or 17);
(b) a child witness is "in need of special protection" if the offence (or any of the offences) to which the proceedings relate is—
(i) an offence falling within section 34(3)(a) (sexual offences etc.), or
(ii) an offence falling within section 34(3)(b), (c) or (d) (kidnapping, assaults etc.); and
(c) a "relevant recording", in relation to a child witness, is a video recording of an interview of the witness made with a view to its admission as evidence in chief of the witness.
(2) Where the court, in making a determination for the purposes of section 19(2), determines that a witness in criminal proceedings is a child witness, the court must—
(a) first have regard to subsections (3) to (7) below; and
(b) then have regard to section 19(2);
and for the purposes of section 19(2), as it then applies to the witness, any special measures required to be applied in relation to him by virtue of this section shall be treated as if they were measures determined by the court, pursuant to section 19(2)(a) and (b)(i), to be ones that (whether on their own or with any other special measures) would be likely to maximise, so far as practicable, the quality of his evidence.
(3) The primary rule in the case of a child witness is that the court must give a special measures direction in relation to the witness which complies with the following requirements—
(a) it must provide for any relevant recording to be admitted under section 26 (video recorded evidence in chief); and
(b) it must provide for any evidence given by the witness in the proceedings which is not given by means of a video recording (whether in chief or otherwise) to be given by means of a live link in accordance with section 23.
(4) The primary rule is subject to the following limitations—
(a) the requirement contained in subsection (3)(a) or (b) has effect subject to the availability (within the meaning of section 18(2)) of the special measure in question in relation to the witness;
(b) the requirement contained in subsection (3)(a) also has effect subject to section 26(2); and
(c) the rule does not apply to the extent that the court is satisfied that compliance with it would not be likely to maximise the quality of the witness's evidence so far as practicable (whether because the application to that evidence of one or more other special measures available in relation to the witness would have that result or for any other reason).
(5) However, subsection (4)(c) does not apply in relation to a child witness in need of special protection.
(6) Where a child witness is in need of special protection by virtue of subsection (1)(b)(i), any special measures direction given by the court which complies with the requirement contained in subsection (3)(a) must in addition provide for the special measure available under section 27 (video recorded cross-examination or re-examination) to apply in relation to the witness.
(7) The requirement contained in subsection (6) has effect subject to the following limitations—
(a) it has effect subject to the availability (within the meaning of section 18(2)) of that special measure in relation to the witness; and
(b) it does not apply if the witness has informed the court that he does not want that special measure to apply in relation to him.
(8) Where a special measures direction is given in relation to a child witness who is an eligible witness by reason only of section 16(1)(a), then—
(a) subject to subsection (9) below, and
(b) except where the witness has already begun to give evidence in the proceedings,
the direction shall cease to have effect at the time when the witness attains the age of 17.
(9) Where a special measures direction is given in relation to a child witness who is an eligible witness by reason only of section 16(1)(a) and—
(a) the direction provides—
(i) for any relevant recording to be admitted under section 26 as evidence in chief of the witness, or
(ii) for the special measure available under section 27 to apply in relation to the witness, and
(b) if it provides for that special measure to so apply, the witness is still under the age of 17 when the video recording is made for the purposes of section 27,
then, so far as it provides as mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) or (ii) above, the direction shall continue to have effect in accordance with section 20(1) even though the witness subsequently attains that age.'.
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