Witnesses under 18 years

Information

Children and young people who are required to go to court as witnesses are most often either the victims of crime or witnesses to crimes. Going to court is regarded by most people as a daunting prospect and children and young people may feel anxious about the prospect and will need extra support and reassurance from parents, guardians or carers in advance of and during this time.

Cases at which children and young people can give evidence can be heard in the District Court, the Circuit Court or the Central Criminal Court.

Before a child or young person is required to go to court to give evidence, it is important to explain the several steps involved in taking a case to court.

The Gardai

A complaint is made to the Gardai that identifies the child or young person as a victim of, or witness to, a crime. A Garda officer then interviews the child or young person.

Following consideration of all the allegations made, the Gardai may decide to:

• Interview the defendant about what the child or young person has said and send the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions, or
• Arrest the defendant on warrant, or
• Charge the defendant with an offence or
• Issue a summons for the defendant to appear in court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions

The Gardai inform the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) about the case and provide information as to how the child or young person and their parents/guardians/carers feel about the child or young person giving evidence in court.

The DPP makes an independent decision about whether or not to proceed with the prosecution, which means that the child or young person may or may not be required to give evidence.

The court

Criminal cases commence in the District Court where the judge sits without a jury. Cases involving minor assaults are decided in the District Court. Cases involving more serious assaults or serious offences against property are sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court. Cases involving murder, rape, aggravated sexual assault, treason, piracy, etc., must be heard in the Central Criminal Court. In both the Circuit and Central Criminal Courts, the judge sits with a jury.

If a witness is 14 years of age or over, he/she will be required to give evidence on oath or affirmation. Children under 14 years are not required to swear an oath or make an affirmation before giving evidence.

If your child is appearing as a witness in court, it is important not to rehearse the child's evidence. The case is likely to fail if the child appears to have been "coached". The prosecution can give you more advice on this.

The prosecution can apply to the court for the witness to give evidence from a separate room using a video link. This means that the witness does not have to go into the courtroom or see the defendant. It could be used, for example, in cases involving a sexual offence or an offence involving violence.

In some cases involving sexual offences, the judge may decide that members of the public should not be allowed in court.