Page 4275 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 29 November 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Although much of what is contained in this legislation is not going to change the sense of hurt that one feels in those circumstances, it goes some way towards giving people in that position a slightly greater proprietary interest in the criminal justice system and the capacity to feel that their interests are important to that system. This view is not a traditional view of our courts, and it is not to say that we should derogate in any way from the central question to be resolved in our criminal justice system, which is: Is a particular person charged with a crime guilty or innocent of that crime? I do not suggest for one minute that we should detract from the paramount importance of principles such as the presumption of innocence of a person and the right of a person to various protections, under our common law and statute law, in the course of their trial; but other aims are compatible with that basic goal.
Madam Speaker, the Victims of Crime Bill does two most important things. It establishes a set of principles to be applied by those who are functionaries in the court system and in the justice system when dealing with victims of crime and provides for the appointment of a victims of crime coordinator who will carry out a number of tasks dealing directly with victims and with the process of building on a system which is fair and just towards victims. Madam Speaker, in some respects this legislation does not go far enough. Clause 4 deals with the principles and sets out the principles which are, in turn, based on the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Victim. They are little changed from that declaration. The preamble to those principles says:
In the administration of justice, the following principles shall, as far as practicable and appropriate, govern the treatment of victims:
... ... ...
Clause 5 says:
A person who performs a function in the administration of justice shall, in addition to any other matter that is relevant, have regard to the governing principles referred to in section 4.
Those principles are set out in clause 4. I have a concern, and it is illustrated by paragraph (a), which states, as the first principle:
a victim should be dealt with at all times in a sympathetic, constructive and reassuring manner and with due regard to his or her personal situation, rights and dignity;
When I read that, it occurred to me that, although that is a very important principle, I had very often seen the violation of that principle in the way in which defence counsel particularly - and sometimes even members of the bench - might deal with particular victims who appear as witnesses in court proceedings and where there is an argument about the veracity of what that particular victim--witness is saying. We all know, from watching television and other exposure to the court system, that defence counsel will make it his or her job to attack the credibility of a witness and often to treat that witness in a very aggressive fashion in order to achieve that goal. To describe that treatment as "sympathetic, constructive and reassuring" would be an exaggeration.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .