Noticeboard
| Date | 01 July 2017 |
| Published date | 01 July 2017 |
| Author | Jeremy Gans |
| DOI | 10.1177/1365712717717871 |
| Subject Matter | Noticeboard |
Noticeboard
Jeremy Gans
Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Law reform and source material
Victims – Australia
Victorian Law Reform Commission, The Role of Victims of Crime in the Criminal Trial Process, Report,
August 2016, available at <http://lawreform.vic.gov.au/p rojects/victims-crime-criminal-trial-process /
victims-crime-criminal-trial-process-pdf >
This final report by Victoria’s peak law reform agency sets out recommendations that aim to embed
the victim’s ‘evolving’ role in the criminal trial process, including recommending a new provision for
crime victims’ rights in Victoria’s human rights statute:
a. to be acknowledged as a participant (but not a party) with an interest in the proceedings
b. to be treated with respect at all times
c. to be protected from unnecessary trauma, intimidation and distress when giving evidence.
Other recommendations include: making the disallowance of improper questions mandatory for all
witnesses, not just vulnerable ones; repealing a provision allowing courts to order a victim to leave the
courtroom after he orshe has testified; requiring prosecutors to offer conferences to various categories of
victims before and after key court dates; providing legal aid for victims to assert substantive legal entitle-
ments and humanrights; requiring that prosecutors consultwith victims on various prosecutorial decisions;
providingnotice, advice and standing to victimsin relation to confidentialcorrespondence issues; requiring
that judges assess the admissibility of victim impact statements in light of their communicative purpose
and despiteany emotive or sensitive content;creating a witness intermediary scheme for childand disabled
victims; extending existing protective witness arrangements to a broader category of ‘protected victims’;
establishing a heightened test for leave to cross-examine victims at committal hearings; and extending
confidential communication protections to victims’ health information.
The admissibility and content of victim impact statements will also be considered in an inquiry by the
New South Wales Sentencing Council, announced at <http://www.sentencingcouncil.justice.nsw.go-
v.au/Pages/Current-projects/VIS/Victims.aspx>.
Rules of evidence – Ireland
Law Reform Commission, Consolidation and Reform of Aspects of the Law of Evidence, Report, January
2017, available at <http://www.lawreform.ie/news/consolidation-and-reform-of-aspects-of-the-law-of-
evidence.705.html>
Corresponding author:
Jeremy Gans, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia.
E-mail: jeremy.gans@unimelb.edu.au
The International Journalof
Evidence & Proof
2017, Vol. 21(3) 293–295
ªThe Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/1365712717717871
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