About this Event
1.30pm: Welcome
1.35pm: Opening Remarks
1.45pm: Improving Access to Justice for Victims of Crime in Northern Ireland
Prof Kevin Brown, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast
This presentation is relevant to Assembly discussion regarding the forthcoming Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill and how that Bill could most effectively improve victims’ experiences and protections in Northern Ireland. It draws on a range of academic research and expertise in the area, including: (1) analysis of criminal justice legislation and policy reform in Northern Ireland that focuses on how legal frameworks influence victims' experiences within the system and how legislation could better address vulnerability, accessibility and fairness; (2) examination of how victims experience criminal justice processes, including reporting barriers, differential treatment and procedural protections; (3) analysis of older crime victims, their experiences, victimisation and engagement with the criminal justice system, including barriers they faced due to age-related vulnerabilities and the system’s reliance on narrow or inflexible understandings of vulnerability; and, (4) study of hate crime law and policy. Focusing on automatic consideration for special measures and protections against in-person cross-examination by unrepresented defendants, the presentation highlights the need for victim focused reforms that both account for diverse vulnerabilities and ensure victims’ rights are protected in practice. It considers victim participation and recognition and how each could be enhanced in Northern Ireland, without compromising defendants’ rights or creating unrealistic expectations about sentencing influence. It further underscores the importance of statutory oversight, meaningful engagement mechanisms and improved data collection. Drawing on academic work in sentencing and criminal justice outcomes, as well as practical experience of sentencing policy development in Northern Ireland, the presentation also explains how systems seek legitimacy through proportionality, transparency and fairness. Included is consideration of a statutory Commissioner – its design and implications of same, vulnerable victims’ protections and how victim-centred reforms interact with existing processes.
2.05pm: Maximising the use of Registered Intermediaries in the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice System
Dr John Taggart, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast
Relevant to the forthcoming Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill, this presentation addresses many key ideas outlined in the Bill’s consultation, such as pre-trial independent legal representation. It explains how many aspects of the Bill - and indeed victim and witness engagement with the criminal justice system more broadly - depend on effective and meaningful participation. Drawing on research and expertise concerning the use of “intermediaries” in criminal justice systems internationally and in Northern Ireland (including designing and delivering intermediary training in Northern Ireland), it explains how communication support roles produce “better evidence” for courts and tribunals and how Northern Ireland provides one of the broadest ranges of communication assistance to vulnerable individuals who give evidence in justice procedures. Highlighting the “intermediary” under current legislation in Northern Ireland - a special measure that is central to ensuring assistance during criminal proceedings, especially for vulnerable victims and witnesses due to age, intellectual disability or learning disability - the presentation explains how intermediaries facilitate communication between victims, witnesses and criminal justice professionals. For example, the intermediaries both assess an individual’s communication needs and provide practical guidance to police, lawyers and judges on how to effectively communicate with vulnerable individuals, while seeking to ensure the “best evidence” is produced in a way that accommodates individual needs. The presentation further explains how Northern Ireland’s unique “unitary” intermediary model could further integrate the intermediary into procedures and improve victims’ access to justice. It sets out a road map on how to do so, which could enable Northern Ireland to become an international leader in this area, if adopted.
2.25pm: Time for redress for those bereaved during the Troubles
Prof Luke Moffett, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast
This presentation draws on a body of academic research and expertise to propose a new, dedicated bereavement compensatory scheme with the dual aims of offering a standardised lump-sum payment to bereaved families due to conflict-related violence and acknowledging the families’ loss as a discrete harm requiring redress. The presentation explains what such a scheme would look like, along with its operation and fit within the current legacy repeal debate, helping to inform Assembly discussion in this area, including deliberations concerning the forthcoming Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill. The presentation draws on findings from an academic study of bereaved victims in Northern Ireland - in particular, their rights under compensation mechanisms and how those mechanisms treated them during the Northern Ireland conflict known as the “Troubles”. That research included extensive archival review and interviews with victims, evidencing the inadequacy of compensation awards during the height of the Troubles and arbitrary and discriminatory practice when making such awards. For example, the study highlighted that while the existing criminal injury compensation scheme - introduced in 1968 - was designed to alleviate the financial burdens caused by criminal acts, including wrongful deaths, the scheme has proven to be ill equipped in responding fairly to the loss suffered by bereaved families, due to the sheer scale and the political nature of the violence during the Troubles. The study found awards were calculated primarily on narrow criteria, such as loss of income or funeral costs, resulting in many families receiving amounts that bore little relation to the emotional and social harm endured. In some examined cases, it found families had been awarded as little as £43 to cover funeral expenses, and where multiple deaths occurred within a single family, compensation had varied considerably between beneficiaries, creating a “financial hierarchy of victims”, where the losses of some bereaved families were treated as less significant than others, even where the deaths had occurred during the same incident. The research also found the compensatory scheme exhibited gender bias, with women, children and co-habiting partners often having received significantly lower awards or excluded altogether. Moreover, it found inadequate recognition of bereavement itself as a distinct form of loss warranting meaningful reparation. The presentation also draws on comparative research relating to the Commission for Victims and Survivors, to support Assembly considerations.
2.45pm: Discussion
3.15pm: Closing
3.20pm: Networking & Refreshments
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Parliament Buildings, Parliament Buildings, Belfast, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
