XN000022-1996-10-09 — Page 36

Reply:

(e)

Mr President,

(a)

(b)

(c)

19 -

whether, in the light of the problems which have been brought to light in this case, the authority concerned will review the existing legislation with a view to determining whether there is a need to introduce remedial measures; if so, what the specific details of the review are and when the review will be completed; if not, why not?

Yes. The prosecution did consider the possibility of applying to the court for the use of live television link facilities for the giving of evidence, but for the reasons given below, the trial did not proceed.

Yes. The prosecution had obtained a psychologist's report in respect of the victim, which contained the following observations and comments:

The victim had great difficulty in making any organised and full narration of the incident.

The would be very unlikely to be able to follow court procedures.

She had limited understanding of the meaning of taking an oath.

She was easily confused by repeated questioning and this might have resulted in inconsistent or incorrect information from her.

She had minimal resources to cope with the strain of cross- examination.

There were many limitations on the victim's ability to be a competent witness in court.

In determining what the victim's best interests were in this case, the following matters were taken into account:

the contents of the psychologist's report;

the possible availability of a live television link at trial;

the victim's recovery from the incident and the possibility that a trial would cause her emotional instability; and