My regular readers will, I hope, have noticed there was no Hingston’s Law article last month. That was because I was away at a conference considering some of the changes to be brought in to our Law and practice to reduce the strain put upon witnesses. Indeed over the last two months, I have been finding out about four projects, all of which will impact upon witnesses.

Starting at the beginning, it was finally recognised that the current practice of the High Court was both grossly inefficient and quite unfair on witnesses. At present only four out of ten cases calling in the High Court are dealt with in the sitting in which they call and less than one third of witnesses cited to give evidence actually do so. In other words, a very large number of people wound themselves up to face the ordeal of giving evidence while few got it over and done with at the expected time and many never. This appalling, and unacceptable, state of affairs was investigated by one of the senior High Court Judges, Lord Bonomy, presently seconded to hear the war crimes case against Milosevic. Lord Bonomy’s far-reaching recommendations have been put into effect by the Scottish Parliament and are due to take effect in the new year. The changes are far ranging and extensive and intended to let people know as soon as can be expected whether they will indeed have to give evidence and when.

Nor is the reform to stop there and it is intended that appropriate elements of the new scheme will soon be incorporated into practice in the Sheriff Courts as well. Unfortunately, as is to be expected of reforms today, there does not appear to be extra resources provided to meet the new demands. Though there is much enthusiasm and desire to see the new proposals work, I have grave doubts that they will be able to grow as they should unless the purse strings are relaxed. It would be a disgrace were this fundamental change in practice not allowed to grow and develop.

At the same conference, I attended a discussion on some of the problems expected to be faced when the new procedures for vulnerable witnesses, which I wrote about in an earlier article, come into effect next April.

Finally, and long overdue it seems to me, the problems being faced daily in our courts by victims and witnesses are being recognised and genuine efforts being made to meet them, at least in part. In this context at least, long live the revolution. Law is not for lawyers, it is for the people.

It follows that I was pleased to be told about the work of VIA, the Victim Information and Advice service as part of the Procurator Fiscal Service. Its role is to provide a dedicated service to certain victims of crime, bereaved next of kin and vulnerable witnesses. Such work has always been part of the many duties of the Procurator Fiscal but, as the Fiscal’s workload has increased exponentially over the years, this aspect had not been receiving the attention it deserved. VIA is there to support and supplement the efforts of the Procurator Fiscal by offering information, as appropriate and required, to victims of crimes involving domestic abuse, racist crimes, sexual offences or where there is a likelihood of a jury trial. It also offers its services to all child victims and witnesses, all vulnerable witnesses and next of kin, where the death may involve criminal proceedings, a Fatal Accident Inquiry or significant further inquiries.

I see VIA’s workload increasing once the Vulnerable Witnesses Act comes into force. Again I can only hope that its important role is properly recognised and funded. The people it is helping are desperately in need of its services.

Finally this month I was shown the new scheme being brought into practice throughout the UK for identity parades. At present identity parades are rarely held, but there are pressures from the Human Rights Act and the Vulnerable Witnesses Act, which are likely to mean more being held in the future. They are a worry for many witnesses, who, at present, have to be taken, some times some distance, to a police station to view a line up of people, who may include the person, who, for example, attacked them. It really does not matter how one tries to explain that the people in the parade cannot see the witness and do not know who the witness is, it is still a stressful experience just because he might be there only a few feet away from you. Hooray for modern technology as the new system will involve viewing a virtual parade of video footage. The alleged villain will not be physically there. Furthermore the “parade” can be at a police station near you or even, if you are unable to go there, in your home or hospital.