Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Examination of witnesses'

The credibility of an eyewitness can have a pivotal influence upon fact-finders’ determinations. This is particularly true for recurring events like domestic violence, wherein there is often limited evidence to corroborate the witness’ narrative. This thesis examined the credibility of adults who recall a repeated event. Witness credibility was examined along the dimensions of cognitive competence, honesty, and perceived credibility. Section 1 examined the dimension of cognitive competence, via an assessment of memory accuracy. Experiments 1 and 2 examined adults’ ability to recall a single or repeated event that varied across occurrences. The results indicated that adults are likely to have difficulty recalling details about a specific occurrence of a repeated event. Section 2 examined the credibility dimension of honesty. In this section, the utility of the content analysis technique, reality monitoring, was assessed when speakers recall a repeated event. In Experiments 3 and 4, undergraduate students recalled an event that had been experienced once, repeatedly, or was fabricated. In both experiments, reality monitoring reliably classified veracity when speakers recalled a single event, but not a repeated event. In Section 3, the perceived credibility of repeated-event witnesses was examined. In Experiments 5 and 6, evaluators observed a video of a speaker who recalled a single, repeated, or fabricated event. In both experiments, event repetition had a detrimental effect upon the perceived credibility of speakers. Along each dimension, evidence of deficits emerged in the credibility of repeated-event witnesses, relative to single- or fabricated-event witnesses. These results indicate that repeated-event witnesses are unlikely to be perceived as high in credibility. This thesis should encourage collaboration between legal professionals and experts in memory, to protect the credibility of genuine witnesses who recall a repeated event.

Tesis para optar al grado de Magíster en Lingüística con Mención en Lengua Inglesa.<br>Tesis no disponible a texto completo<br>The research presented here aimed at investigating into the lawyer-witness interaction in examination and cross-examination in courtroom, in terms of the speech acts that they perform in such a context which, as described above, can be unaffable for the witness. The antagonistic nature of courtroom examination, particularly of cross-examination, makes it interesting to determine the types of speech acts which are conveyed in the lawyer-witness interaction, beyond the evident fact that lawyers ask questions that the witness must answer.

Forensic accountants are occasionally called upon to assist in criminal law proceedings. The role of the forensic accountant in such proceedings is usually determined during the engagement of the forensic investigation to assist in the matter under investigation. During such investigations, various investigation techniques may be utilised by the forensic accountant in order to convey the facts and findings of the forensic investigation in a written report, drafted by the forensic accountant. When criminal prosecutions are instituted and the forensic accountant is called upon to act as an expert witness, such evidence is mostly based on the findings of the written report. Thus, in giving evidence, the forensic accountant must ensure that the testimony and evidence will be admissible in court and that the forensic accountant is found to be a credible witness. Although there are various legal standards that the forensic accountant must adhere to, the ICFP, which is the South African regulatory body for commercial forensic practitioners, is still in its infancy and has as yet not set any standards with which forensic accountants must comply with when assisting in criminal investigations or drafting written reports. The objective of this study is to highlight the role of the forensic accountant in criminal law proceedings. This objective is reached by clarification of the following: • the difference between a forensic accountant and an auditor; • the techniques available to the forensic accountant when conducting a forensic investigation; • the standards with which a forensic accountant‘s report should comply; and • the forensic accountant‘s role in testimony. The study illustrates the difference between a forensic accountant and an auditor and suggests a definition for a forensic accountant. The study furthermore explores various techniques that the forensic accountant may utilise during the investigation. The study also analyses the legal standards with which a forensic accountant must comply in order to ensure the admissibility of the written report and its findings. In order to achieve this, international regulatory standards applicable to forensic accountants are analysed and discussed. Finally, the role of the forensic accountant in court proceedings is examined. The illustrations in this study will be helpful in determining standards that could be implemented in South Africa to guide forensic accountants in their role in criminal law proceedings.<br>Thesis (MCom (Forensic accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The investigative interviewing of eyewitnesses is an important part of the judicial system and is essential in police investigations to identify culpable parties. However, interviewing witnesses to elicit accurate recall is not without some flaws (Ainsworth, 2002). Researchers have acknowledged that recall of information is a complex process vulnerable to variables which impede the retrieval of accurate information (Gudjonsson, 1996; Loftus, 1979; 1992). To improve witness recall, psychologists developed the Cognitive Interview (CI) procedure to help interviewers retrieve more correct information from witnesses (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992). The use of the CI has been shown to increase accuracy in many populations (Memon, Holley, Wark, Bull, & Koehnken, 1996; Milne & Shaw, 1999). However, there are some criticisms of the CI. For example, the CI may cause confusion for witnesses (Kebbell, Milne, & Wagstaff, 1999), takes longer to administer than a standard police interview (Croft, 1995) and contain components which are reported to undermine the effectiveness of this procedure (Boon & Noon, 1994). This research program utilised three studies in a multimethod approach to evaluate investigative interviewing procedures, from an experimental and applied perspective. The overarching aim of this research was to identify a parsimonious, effective and efficient interview procedure which overcame some of the limitations recognized in the CI. The first study employed an experimental methodology to test the effectiveness of the CI and two alternative versions of the CI, to determine which interview procedure resulted in the most correct and least incorrect amounts of information being elicited from student witnesses to a road incident stimulus. Results indicated that the truncated group utilizing mnemonics Tell All and Reinstate Context elicited as much correct and less incorrect information than the ‘Full CI’ group, and took less time to administer. Study Two examined the perceptions of the interview procedure from the witnesses’ perspective. Witnesses were asked to complete a questionnaire which was designed to investigate what the participants thought about how the interview was conducted. Results indicated that, overall, the witnesses found that the interviewers engaged in practices and behaviours at a similar skill level and appreciated the rapport building and clarity of the interviewers. A content analysis revealed that the witnesses favoured some mnemonics over others. The qualitative statements made in regard to questions in the questionnaire are presented. Study Three used a triangulation methodology to determine what the Queensland Police Service officers were currently trained in and practising in the field. Secondary sources, a questionnaire, focus group and case study methodologies were used to make this determination. Findings indicated that there were areas where the police service could improve training of officers to help facilitate interviewing of witnesses. The integration of the findings from the three studies will help to inform the current state of research in the area of investigative interviewing. In particular, this research provides a target examination of interviewing practices in a sub-section of the Queensland Police Service. The findings from the three studies were used to identify an interview procedure which obtained more correct information, did not gain an increase in incorrect information, reduced the time required to conduct the interview, was not confusing for the witnesses, or the officers, and contained no inherent problems for the judicial system. Further recommendations are made for the use of interview protocols for investigative interviewing of road incidents.

The investigative interviewing of eyewitnesses is an important part of the judicial system and is essential in police investigations to identify culpable parties. However, interviewing witnesses to elicit accurate recall is not without some flaws (Ainsworth, 2002). Researchers have acknowledged that recall of information is a complex process vulnerable to variables which impede the retrieval of accurate information (Gudjonsson, 1996; Loftus, 1979; 1992). To improve witness recall, psychologists developed the Cognitive Interview (CI) procedure to help interviewers retrieve more correct information from witnesses (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992). The use of the CI has been shown to increase accuracy in many populations (Memon, Holley, Wark, Bull, & Koehnken, 1996; Milne & Shaw, 1999). However, there are some criticisms of the CI. For example, the CI may cause confusion for witnesses (Kebbell, Milne, & Wagstaff, 1999), takes longer to administer than a standard police interview (Croft, 1995) and contain components which are reported to undermine the effectiveness of this procedure (Boon & Noon, 1994). This research program utilised three studies in a multimethod approach to evaluate investigative interviewing procedures, from an experimental and applied perspective. The overarching aim of this research was to identify a parsimonious, effective and efficient interview procedure which overcame some of the limitations recognized in the CI. The first study employed an experimental methodology to test the effectiveness of the CI and two alternative versions of the CI, to determine which interview procedure resulted in the most correct and least incorrect amounts of information being elicited from student witnesses to a road incident stimulus. Results indicated that the truncated group utilizing mnemonics Tell All and Reinstate Context elicited as much correct and less incorrect information than the ‘Full CI’ group, and took less time to administer. Study Two examined the perceptions of the interview procedure from the witnesses’ perspective. Witnesses were asked to complete a questionnaire which was designed to investigate what the participants thought about how the interview was conducted. Results indicated that, overall, the witnesses found that the interviewers engaged in practices and behaviours at a similar skill level and appreciated the rapport building and clarity of the interviewers. A content analysis revealed that the witnesses favoured some mnemonics over others. The qualitative statements made in regard to questions in the questionnaire are presented. Study Three used a triangulation methodology to determine what the Queensland Police Service officers were currently trained in and practising in the field. Secondary sources, a questionnaire, focus group and case study methodologies were used to make this determination. Findings indicated that there were areas where the police service could improve training of officers to help facilitate interviewing of witnesses. The integration of the findings from the three studies will help to inform the current state of research in the area of investigative interviewing. In particular, this research provides a target examination of interviewing practices in a sub-section of the Queensland Police Service. The findings from the three studies were used to identify an interview procedure which obtained more correct information, did not gain an increase in incorrect information, reduced the time required to conduct the interview, was not confusing for the witnesses, or the officers, and contained no inherent problems for the judicial system. Further recommendations are made for the use of interview protocols for investigative interviewing of road incidents.

There has been little attention to the question as to whom the NT documents speak of as being actively involved in declaring God among the nations, although some scholars recently have paid heed to this theme in the Pauline letters. Also, scholarly work on the question has generally not been carried out in the light of verbal declaration by God's people in the OT, because there is a prevailing idea among scholars that missionary proclamation by God's people simply is not found in the OT. With these in mind, our study first explores whether the OT does or does not deal with verbal declaration by God's people for the sake of leading the nations to him. This leads us to find that some OT passages do indeed concern missionary proclamation by God's people among the nations. Thereafter, our study examines the motif of verbal declaration by the Church in the NT. We focus on the identity of those who are verbal declarers among the nations, considering the relationship between verbal declaration by God's people in the OT and the same by the Church in the NT. Our study argues that, in the identified NT passages, verbal declaration by believers is portrayed in line with the treatment of the same theme, concerning the faithful Israel, in OT documents and that it is believers as a whole who are spoken of as declaring God among the nations for the purpose of bringing them to him.

Bibliography: pages 118-126.<br>This dissertation arises out of a recognition of the need for research into evangelicalism as a distinct and important area within the Christian church in South Africa. It focuses on the struggle for the symbols and doctrines of the evangelical tradition in South Africa as that struggle is articulated in the Evangelical Witness document (EWISA), and the Concerned Evangelicals organisation (CE), with which the document is associated. Evangelicalism is approached as the site of a struggle for certain theological elements, which have a particular material force as ideology. This struggle is discussed in four chapters. The first chapter discusses the way in which evangelicalism may be defined, suggesting that the struggle over the definition of evangelicalism is itself an indication of wider struggles in evangelicalism. It then develops a brief working model of evangelicalism in South Africa as a framework for understanding CE and EWISA and their critique. The second chapter addresses the EWISA document in some detail, focussing on the way in which EWISA's restatement of certain tenets of evangelical theology has a particular material (ideological) force. The third chapter provides a brief history of CE, and discusses its main agenda as it has been articulated thus far. The final chapter reflects on CE and EWISA's major contributions, indicates some parallel movements in the One Third World and other parts of the Two Thirds World, and makes certain theological and practical recommendations for CE's ongoing work. The main thesis argued is that the liberation critique offered by CE and EWISA shows the need for a reassessment and restatement of evangelicalism in South Africa. Some of the ways in which this restatement may occur are tentatively suggested through an analysis of CE and EWISA's retrieval of certain elements of the evangelical tradition for its project of liberation. This, it is suggested, forms an important beginning for the reclaiming of evangelicalism from the right wing of the evangelical community.

O presente trabalho analisa diferentes aspectos da perícia médico legal, visando buscar formas efetivas de otimizar seus laudos e aferir melhores resultados na busca da verdade dos fatos na Justiça brasileira. Para tanto, é feita uma análise etimológica e uma breve retrospectiva da história da perícia, como forma de melhor entender e contextualizar suas bases e origens. Após, é analisada a realidade brasileira nesta área, em especial no Estado de São Paulo, mediante a verificação da estrutura dos locais de perícia, bem como da qualidade das intervenções dos poderes legislativo e executivo nesta área. É discutida, ainda, a questão da desvinculação da perícia à Segurança Pública no Brasil, bem como é realizado um breve estudo de direito comparado, em que são focadas as diferenças no tratamento legal da perícia entre o ordenamento jurídico brasileiro e os ordenamentos estrangeiros.<br>This study analyzes several aspects of forensic expertise, aiming to seek effective ways to optimize the experts reports, consequently benchmarking best results in the search for the truth in investigations carried out in Brazil. Therefore, it was performed an etymological analysis and a brief retrospective of the history of forensic sciences as a way to understand and contextualize its origins and bases. In sequence it was analyzed the Brazilian reality in this field, especially in the State of São Paulo, by means of checking the structure of the locations where the States official examinations are conducted, as well as the quality of the interventions of the government and the parliament in this field. This work also discusses the issue of untying the States official examinations from the Citizen Security authorities in Brazil, as well as performs a brief study of comparative Law, which is focused on the differences related to the legal treatment of forensic sciences on foreign Legal systems compared to the Brazilian Legal system.

Legal practice heavily depends on the construction and evaluation of narrative accounts. The ability to legitimately narrate a series of events is a source of power that is unequally distributed in the courtroom. Grounded by a detailed empirical analysis of the court transcripts from R. v. Ghomeshi (2016), this dissertation investigates the relations of power and taken-for-granted assumptions that condition struggles over narrative construction in the sexual assault trial. The project contributes to feminist critiques of sexual assault trials by mobilizing the work of Pierre Bourdieu, which has been largely overlooked in feminist socio-legal scholarship, and by showing how the concepts of narrative capital and what I term configurational power can help us examine narrative power structures. Briefly, narrative capital refers to the speaking positions and properties that bestow authority on one’s narrative practices. The term configurational power refers to the ability to legitimately organize a set of events and experiences into a narrative whole. Through consideration of the conditions and premises that structure who can narrate, in what manner and with what legitimacy, we can better understand the factors contributing to the discrediting of certain testimonies in the courtroom. Analysing the court transcripts revealed several techniques through which the lawyers exercised configurational power and narrative domination over the complainants during the trial: disconnecting and interrupting the complainants’ accounts; highlighting the complainants’ position as unknowing characters; configuring inconsistencies in their accounts; and controlling the narrative ending. Unequal distributions of configurational power constituted a relation of domination that existed as self-evidently legitimate, a form of domination that Bourdieu refers to as symbolic violence. The standards of legal impartiality, autonomy, and objectivity, as well as cultural stock stories about sexual assault and law’s taken-for-granted view of reliable memory, were enacted in the courtroom narrative practices and contributed to the reproduction of this symbolic violence. The unequal relations of narrative capital and configurational power in the courtroom limited the complainants’ ability to narrate their victimization and allowed the defence lawyers to create narrative twists during cross-examination that framed the complainants as manipulative women and upended their claims of victimhood. Through this dissertation, I critically analyze the relations of domination that both condition and were reproduced in the courtroom practices of narrative telling and interpretation.

This research used the Queensland Police Service, Australia, as a major case study. Information on principles, techniques and processes used, and the reason for the recording, storing and release of audit information for evidentiary purposes is reported. It is shown that Law Enforcement Agencies have a two-fold interest in, and legal obligation pertaining to, audit trails. The first interest relates to the situation where audit trails are actually used by criminals in the commission of crime and the second to where audit trails are generated by the information systems used by the police themselves in support of the recording and investigation of crime. Eleven court cases involving Queensland Police Service audit trails used in evidence in Queensland courts were selected for further analysis. It is shown that, of the cases studied, none of the evidence presented was rejected or seriously challenged from a technical perspective. These results were further analysed and related to normal requirements for trusted maintenance of audit trail information in sensitive environments with discussion on the ability and/or willingness of courts to fully challenge, assess or value audit evidence presented. Managerial and technical frameworks for firstly what is considered as an environment where a computer system may be considered to be operating “properly” and, secondly, what aspects of education, training, qualifications, expertise and the like may be considered as appropriate for persons responsible within that environment, are both proposed. Analysis was undertaken to determine if audit and control of information in a high security environment, such as law enforcement, could be judged as having improved, or not, in the transition from manual to electronic processes. Information collection, control of processing and audit in manual processes used by the Queensland Police Service, Australia, in the period 1940 to 1980 was assessed against current electronic systems essentially introduced to policing in the decades of the 1980s and 1990s. Results show that electronic systems do provide for faster communications with centrally controlled and updated information readily available for use by large numbers of users who are connected across significant geographical locations. However, it is clearly evident that the price paid for this is a lack of ability and/or reluctance to provide improved audit and control processes. To compare the information systems audit and control arrangements of the Queensland Police Service with other government departments or agencies, an Australia wide survey was conducted. Results of the survey were contrasted with the particular results of a survey, conducted by the Australian Commonwealth Privacy Commission four years previous, to this survey which showed that security in relation to the recording of activity against access to information held on Australian government computer systems has been poor and a cause for concern. However, within this four year period there is evidence to suggest that government organisations are increasingly more inclined to generate audit trails. An attack on the overall security of audit trails in computer operating systems was initiated to further investigate findings reported in relation to the government systems survey. The survey showed that information systems audit trails in Microsoft Corporation's “Windows” operating system environments are relied on quite heavily. An audit of the security for audit trails generated, stored and managed in the Microsoft “Windows 2000” operating system environment was undertaken and compared and contrasted with similar such audit trail schemes in the “UNIX” and “Linux” operating systems. Strength of passwords and exploitation of any security problems in access control were targeted using software tools that are freely available in the public domain. Results showed that such security for the “Windows 2000” system is seriously flawed and the integrity of audit trails stored within these environments cannot be relied upon. An attempt to produce a framework and set of guidelines for use by expert witnesses in the information technology (IT) profession is proposed. This is achieved by examining the current rules and guidelines related to the provision of expert evidence in a court environment, by analysing the rationale for the separation of distinct disciplines and corresponding bodies of knowledge used by the Medical Profession and Forensic Science and then by analysing the bodies of knowledge within the discipline of IT itself. It is demonstrated that the accepted processes and procedures relevant to expert witnessing in a court environment are transferable to the IT sector. However, unlike some discipline areas, this analysis has clearly identified two distinct aspects of the matter which appear particularly relevant to IT. These two areas are; expertise gained through the application of IT to information needs in a particular public or private enterprise; and expertise gained through accepted and verifiable education, training and experience in fundamental IT products and system.

La première partie de l’étude est consacrée à l’invocation, intra et extra muros, du droit à un procès équitable. Sont analysés ainsi, dans un premier temps, l’applicabilité directe de l’article 6 et la subsidiarité de la Convention par rapport au droit national et de la Cour Européenne des Droits de l’Homme par rapport aux juridictions nationales. Le droit à un procès équitable étant un droit jurisprudentiel, l’étude se focalise, dans un second temps, sur l’invocabilité des arrêts de la Cour Européenne et plus précisément sur l’invocabilité directe de l’arrêt qui constate une violation du droit à un procès équitable dans une affaire mettant en cause l’Etat et l’invocabilité de l’interprétation conforme à l’arrêt qui interprète l’article 6 dans une affaire mettant en cause un Etat tiers. L’introduction dans l’ordre juridique français et hellénique de la possibilité de réexamen de la décision pénale définitive rendue en violation de la Convention a fait naitre un nouveau droit d’accès à la Cour de cassation lequel trouve son terrain de prédilection aux violations de l’article 6 et constitue peut-être le pas le plus important pour le respect du droit à un procès équitable après l’acceptation (par la France et la Grèce) du droit de recours individuel. Quant au faible fondement de l’autorité de la chose interprétée par la Cour Européenne, qui est d’ailleurs un concept d’origine communautaire, cela explique pourquoi un dialogue indirect entre la Cour Européenne et la Cour de cassation est possible sans pour autant changer en rien l’invocabilité de l’interprétation conforme et le fait que l’existence d’un précédent oblige la Cour de cassation à motiver l’interprétation divergente qu’elle a adoptée.La seconde partie de l’étude, qui est plus volumineuse, est consacrée aux garanties de bonne administration de la justice (article 6§1), à la présomption d’innocence (article 6§2), aux droits qui trouvent leur fondement conventionnel dans l’article 6§1 mais leur fondement logique dans la présomption d’innocence et aux droits de la défense (article 6§3). Sont ainsi analysés le droit à un tribunal indépendant, impartial et établi par la loi, le délai raisonnable, le principe de l’égalité des armes, le droit à une procédure contradictoire, le droit de la défense d’avoir la parole en dernier, la publicité de l’audience et du prononcé des jugements et arrêts, l’obligation de motivation des décisions, la présomption d’innocence, dans sa dimension procédurale et personnelle, le « droit au mensonge », le droit de l’accusé de se taire et de ne pas contribuer à son auto-incrimination, son droit d’être informé de la nature et de la cause de l’accusation et de la requalification envisagée des faits, son droit au temps et aux facilités nécessaires à la préparation de la défense, y compris notamment la confidentialité de ses communications avec son avocat et le droit d’accès au dossier, son droit de comparaître en personne au procès, le droit de la défense avec ou sans l’assistance d’un avocat, le droit de l’accusé d’être représenté en son absence par son avocat, le droit à l’assistance gratuite d’un avocat lorsque la situation économique de l’accusé ne permet pas le recours à l’assistance d’un avocat mais les intérêts de la justice l’exigent, le droit d’interroger ou faire interroger les témoins à charge et d’obtenir la convocation et l’interrogation des témoins à décharge dans les mêmes conditions que les témoins à charge et le droit à l’interprétation et à la traduction des pièces essentielles du dossier. L’analyse est basée sur la jurisprudence strasbourgeoise et centrée sur la position qu’adoptent la Cour de cassation française et l’Aréopage<br>The first party of the study is dedicated to the invocation of the right to a fair trial intra and extra muros and, on this basis, it focuses on the direct applicability of Article 6 and the subsidiarity of the Convention and of the European Court of Human Rights. Because of the fact that the right to a fair trial is a ‘‘judge-made law’’, the study also focuses on the invocability of the judgments of the European Court and more precisely on the direct invocability of the European Court’s judgment finding that there has been a violation of the Convention and on the request for an interpretation in accordance with the European Court’s decisions. The possibility of reviewing the criminal judgment made in violation of the Convention has generated a new right of access to the Court of cassation which particularly concerns the violations of the right to a fair trial and is probably the most important step for the respect of the right to a fair trial after enabling the right of individual petition. As for the weak conventional basis of the authority of res interpretata (“autorité de la chose interprétée”), this fact explains why an indirect dialogue between the ECHR and the Court of cassation is possible but doesn’t affect the applicant’s right to request an interpretation in accordance with the Court’s decisions and the duty of the Court of cassation to explain why it has decided to depart from the (non-binding) precedent.The second party of the study is bigger than the first one and is dedicated to the guarantees of the proper administration of justice (Article 6§1), the presumption of innocence (Article 6§2), the rights which find their conventional basis on the Article 6§1 but their logical explanation to the presumption of innocence and the rights of defence (Article 6§3). More precisely, the second party of the study is analyzing the right to an independent and impartial tribunal established by law, the right to a hearing within a reasonable time, the principle of equality of arms, the right to adversarial proceedings, the right of the defence to the last word, the right to a public hearing and a public pronouncement of the judgement, the judge’s duty to state the reasons for his decision, the presumption of innocence, in both its procedural and personal dimensions, the accused’s right to lie, his right to remain silent, his right against self-incrimination, his right to be informed of the nature and the cause of the accusation and the potential re-characterisation of the facts, his right to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defence, including in particular the access to the case-file and the free and confidential communication with his lawyer, his right to appear in person at the trial, his right to defend either in person or through legal assistance, his right to be represented by his counsel, his right to free legal aid if he hasn’t sufficient means to pay for legal assistance but the interests of justice so require, his right to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him and his right to the free assistance of an interpreter and to the translation of the key documents. The analysis is based on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and focuses on the position taken by the French and the Greek Court of Cassation (Areopagus) on each one of the above mentioned rights

This exploratory study examined the manner in which variations in questioning procedures influenced the amount and accuracy of information that children and young adults recalled about a video-taped incident. Preschoolers, 8 to 10-year-olds and young adults were assigned to one of three conditions. In the control condition, one interviewer had complete knowledge of the incident and used a standard question protocol to obtain free recall. To examine how prior knowledge may predispose interviewers to use leading questions, 60 interviewers in the informed condition had limited information about the incident and 60 interviewers in the blind condition had no information about the incident and both groups were free to use their own questioning strategies. The two major dependent measures were spontaneous material (elicited in response to all question types) and yes/no responses to closed questions. Two main hypotheses and several additional questions were examined. The first hypothesis predicted that the amount of spontaneous recall in the blind and informed conditions would be higher but the accuracy lower, when compared to material elicited in the free recall condition across age-groups. Although results showed a significant increase in recall amount, there was a differential effect on accuracy. For the two younger age-groups accuracy decreased but for the adult sample, accuracy scores remained stable across the three conditions. There were clear age-related differences in the amount of material freely recalled in the control condition and no differences in accuracy. In the blind and informed conditions, there were significant age-related differences in both the amount and accuracy of spontaneous recall material. The second hypothesis predicted that closed questions which are leading (in the correct sense) would elicit more accurate responses than those that are misleading. Results supported this hypothesis for the two older samples but there was no difference between the two accuracy scores for the youngest samples. The two older age-groups scored significantly higher than the pre-school sample for accuracy based on leading questions, but there were no age-related differences in response to misleading questions. The blind and informed conditions did not differ in the accuracy of spontaneous recall or closed question material. Accuracy scores were adjusted by subtracting errors associated with particular features in the questioning context and the subject’s developmental status. In comparing the original and adjusted accuracy scores, age-related differences for spontaneous recall were minimal and disappeared for accuracy based on closed questions. In addition to language and comprehension errors, the error type which most clearly distinguished the pre-school from the older age-groups were addition errors classed as incorrect inferences and fabrications. In all cases, these error types were associated with one or more features of the questioning context. The sequential nature of the question/response discourse was highlighted in the proportion of error which was extended over a sequence of turns and the proportion of interviews containing one or more e>ror retractions. For both measures, the two younger groups scored higher that the young adult group. Age related differences were also found in the amount and accuracy of material in the interviewer reports as well as in the components of report error. The results include a detailed outline of the manner in which fabricated material emerged, the circumstances under which it was retracted and the degree to which it appeared in the interviewer reports. Also reviewed are qualitative features relating to the form, content, techniques and style of questioning as well as characteristics of young children’s language, thinking and perception. The results are compared to previous research findings regarding age-related differences in question/response material with specific focus on issues regarding children’s inaccuracy, suggestibility and inability to distinguish fact from fantasy. Productive and counter-productive questioning procedures are discussed in relation to the demand characteristics of the interview setting, the nature of repeated questioning and a number of related issues specific to questioning in the forensic context. Practical application of the findings are discussed with a particular focus on improving non-leading questioning skills in applied settings.<br>Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Psychology.<br>Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-82). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ99188

European Master Human Rights and Democratisation<br>The objective of this study is to examine the position of the defence in a criminal case under the Initiative for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters of 29 April 2010. This proposal is under ongoing discussion at the European Union level and aims to increase efficiency in cross-border cooperation on obtaining evidence in criminal matters. Mutual recognition is the key word on which this cooperation is based. Any new evidence-gathering instrument must safeguard human rights, including the rights of the defence. This work concentrates particularly on the investigation measure of hearing a witness. In this regard, the relevant specific defence rights and their interpretation by the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice are revealed. Subsequently, the potential execution of the new instrument of a European Investigation Order is scrutinised in light of these observations. The results suggest concerns regarding the form and content of the current provisions of the Initiative from a defence perspective. Moreover, general counterbalancing measures are absent, rendering the new Proposal non-proportional to the aim it is willing to achieve. The principal conclusion is that alternative scenarios should be established in order to balance all the interests involved.

In an increasingly digital world, video-mediated communication is becoming more prominent. Video technology is already being used in courtrooms, with a potential future for a distributed and remote courtroom. This thesis investigates how the quality of discussion is impacted across a video-conferencing system and face-to-face communication, with the aim of comparing the participant perspective with observations to create a well-rounded understanding of group dynamics. Participants watched a mock trial before deliberating the problem via both video-mediated and face-to-face communication in groups of three, with sessions recorded and transcribed for data analysis. The data was analysed from three different angles: Interaction Process Analysis, Interruption Occurrences and Observation; and was supplemented with participant surveys. The results showed that video-mediated communication had a higher occurrence of interruptions and lower levels of eye contact, while face-to-face communication had higher occurrences of back channel utterances to show active listening. Future research should look into using a more sophisticated video-conferencing system to combat the eye contact issue, but other than that the quality of discussion was not impacted by the medium of communication.

Text in Afrikaans<br>This study is about the provision of a prototype court preparation programme for the primary school child that had been sexually assaulted. The programme is developed from a Gestalt approach. Literature regarding several existing court preparation programmes was studied and compared in order to identify certain themes for the child's preparation. Knowledge regarding the court, procedures and the functions of the various role players was conveyed to the child with emphasis on the child's role as witness. The research strategy utilised in the study was that of the intervention research and specifically the D&D-model that comprises six phases. The study incorporates the first three phases plus the first step of the fourth phase. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were utilised to establish which themes could be addressed to support the child towards being a credible witness. These themes are summarised in the court preparation programme and are addressed from the Gestalt approach.<br>Social Work<br>M.Diac. (Spelterapie)

碩士<br>國防大學國防管理學院<br>法律研究所<br>97<br>Confront the accused in criminal proceedings the defendant cross-examination is extremely important procedural rights; secret witness witness protection system is one important means for the most effective means. Both in criminal proceedings, it is the conflict. 　　The thrust of this paper is to explore the defendant the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses in secret under the protection of the conflict to reconcile.

碩士<br>中國文化大學<br>法律學系<br>105<br>The Cross-examinatin is the important defensive right of the criminal defendant in the criminal procedure, and it is st ipulated by many international conventions, foreign constitution and criminal procedural law, which is approved by the 384th, 582nd and 636th interpretations of our judges' conference. In our Constitution Article 8 "due process of law" and Article 16 "litigation rights" as the basis for the protection of the fundamental right of the Constitution. However, the right of interrogation is not the absolute right, if necessary, can be limited, in criminal proceedings, because some types of cases of consideration, the use of the right to interrogate the defendant, there is a need to be limited. For example, the provisions of the Witness Protection Act, the Organized Crime Prevention Act, the Trafficking Prevention Law and the Sexual Violence Prevention Law all rest rict the exercise of the right of interrogation. Although the Cross-examinatin of interrogation is a very important right of the defendant in the criminal proceedings, but the testimony of witnesses to fight crime, an important means of judgments, witness protection norms and related systems are also determined to witness testimony in criminal proceedings is important to come forward factor. However, the two in the criminal proceedings is a conflict. The purpose of this paper is to explore the confrontation between the defendant confrontation and witness protection of the legal system under the conflicts.

碩士<br>銘傳大學<br>法律學系碩士班<br>94<br>The relevant fixed back of criminal suit all has its important legislative purposes , and no matter why it will be legislative purpose, no matter how the clause stipulates , need to be pulled together to finish by the judge , defendant , lawyer and public procurator eventually , when we are discussing how to want to solve the dispute in law , is it stand in position , lawsuit of subject thinking to want certainly, can''t the discussion comes simply only , in the procedure of interrogating instead, the persons who interrogate are certainly the most important protagonist, it is to used for finding the true biggest edge toll in the whole criminal suit to interrogate instead , and if we expect one interrogating procedure appear , must expect practice lawyer and procuratorial work sense have perfect , interrogating skilling instead consummate instead perfect, and the use interrogating the skill instead must be limited by legal clause, can only use the skill interrogated instead within the range that the law permit , this represents modification or explanation of the legal clause, having great influence on skill and result interrogated instead , so I will just decide to change reverse an angle and think deeply, run into legal clause explain as us great dispute on appear , namely first say second say third is it talk about, perhaps we can come to make the most proper choice in term of interrogating the skill instead , and solve the dispute on the practice and legal principle.

碩士<br>東吳大學<br>法律學系<br>98<br>In the process of criminal suit for counterfeit trademark, the courts usually depend on the investigation document which is made from the expert who hired by the trademark owner to prove the seizure of goods are all counterfeit, but due to the criminal procedure law 198 rule that the expert witness must appointed by the judge or prosecutor, when the defendant or defender question the credibility of the investigation document, the courts indicate different opinions and every opinion has its own defect. Most of the criminal expert investigations are made by the expert who appointed by the police bureau, violating the criminal procedure law 198 in the same way, although the courts adopt the so called ‘general-appoint from the prosecutor’ theory to solve the issue of credibility in the present, the theory is criticized by many scholars. Due to the counterfeit trademark investigator are hired by trademark owner, and the judges can not use the ‘general-appoint’ theory in counterfeit trademark investigation document, it is more meaningful and effective to discuss the credibility of forensic investigation document from the point of counterfeit trademark investigation document. The thesis is divided into seven chapters, chapter one is research motive, purpose, method, scope and review of documents; chapter two is introduction and summary of forensic investigation, discussing the definition and status of forensic investigation and investigator(expert witness); chapter three is introduction of counterfeit trademark investigation on the practice, discussing all the different verdicts about the credibility of forensic investigation document and pointing out the dilemma of forensic practice; chapter four introduces the regulation of expert witness in our criminal procedure law; chapter five analyses and compares the expert witness system in Germany, Japan and U.S.A.; chapter six is the core of this essay, it analyses the evidential category and the hearsay rule issue of trademark investigation document, the credibility issue of the document without appointing by judges or prosecutor in advance, the credibility issue of the expert witness hired by the trademark owner, the credibility issue of the expert witness investigate without make the oath in advance, and presents the personal opinion in referring to the scholars opinions and foreign legislation. The chapter seven synthesizes all the references and causes that supports the conclusion, also tries to draft the revision of criminal procedure law to solve the dilemma of forensic investigation.

- The examination of witness in a criminal process According to the title of this final paper, it concerns the most important procedural technique under the criminal process - the examination of a witness. It is the most widespread criminalistic and criminal technique which is irreplaceable in the criminal process. The basic task is finding the facts of the case beyond a reasonable doubt. A witness, as a person who testifies to circumstances of an examined case which he remembered and kept in his memory, is one of the basic institutes of criminal law next to the examination. His testimony is very important in checking, investigation and clarifying crimes and other criminalistic relevant events, more precisely in the whole process of clarifying criminal activities. The master's degree thesis is divided into six chapters. The principal part of the thesis is formed by the second chapter to the fourth one. In the introduction the history of the examination, the goal and the structure of the paper are mentioned shortly. The first chapter contains the definition of examination and kinds of examination and creates the beginning of the whole thesis. The important part of the paper is devoted to a witness. A witness is a person who perceives with his senses facts which are important for finding the facts...

Śmierć jest zjawiskiem powszechnym i nieuniknionym, stanowi zwieńczenie życia. Towarzyszyła nam od zawsze jednocześnie przerażając i fascynując, czego wyrazem jest nawiązywanie do motywu śmierci w licznych dziełach literackich, malarskich, czy filmowych. Dane zgromadzone przez Światową Organizację Zdrowia wskazują, że każdego roku w Polsce umiera ponad 350.000 ludzi. Szczególnie bolesne i budzące powszechny sprzeciw są zgony spowodowane działaniami przestępczymi, bowiem w tych szczególnych przypadkach czyjeś życie zostaje brutalnie zakończone przez działanie innego człowieka. Wyjaśnienie każdego zgonu budzącego wątpliwości, a w razie przestępczego spowodowania śmierci - wykrycie i doprowadzenie do skazania sprawcy lub sprawców, należy do obowiązków organów ścigania. Pozytywne rozwiązanie sprawy uzależnione jest od rzetelności ich działania i postępowania zgodnie z określonymi wytycznymi. Szczególnych dowodów w sprawie, zdaniem autorki niniejszej dysertacji, dostarczają oględziny zwłok oraz miejsca, w jakim zostały znalezione. Tylko w 2017 r. umorzono łącznie 360.399 postępowań przygotowawczych, z czego aż 106.106 z powodu niewykrycia sprawcy przestępstwa. Nie wszystkie dotyczyły przestępczego spowodowania zgonu, niemniej statystyki ukazują ogólną skalę problemu braku rozwiązania sprawy. Uznając, że sprawca zawsze pozostawia ślady na miejscu zdarzenia, należy stwierdzić, że w dobie rozwoju współczesnej techniki nie ma śladów, których nie można wykryć. Można więc poczynić założenie, że postępowania, które zostają umorzone, świadczą o nierzetelnym i niewystarczająco dokładnym przeprowadzeniu czynności w trakcie postępowania przygotowawczego. Postępowanie prowadzone w sprawie zgonu budzącego wątpliwości cechuje się wielością i różnorodnością czynności podejmowanych zarówno podczas oględzin zwłok w miejscu ich znalezienia, jak i samego miejsca, ale także dalszych działań podejmowanych w związku ze zgromadzonym materiałem dowodowym. Dotyczy to przede wszystkim pracy biegłych, którzy wykonują ekspertyzy bazując na zgromadzonym materiale dowodowym. Od profesjonalizmu i rzetelności osób podejmujących poszczególne działania zależy końcowy wynik postępowania w postaci poznania przyczyny zgonu i w razie stwierdzenia, iż była ona wynikiem przestępnego działania osoby trzeciej, wykrycie sprawcy oraz udowodnienie mu winy. Nie tylko błędy, ale również uchybienia i niedopatrzenia mogą rzutować na nierozwiązanie sprawy. Wśród nich można wyróżnić zarówno niewłaściwie przeprowadzone oględziny, jak i powołanie biegłych czy to niedysponujących należytą wiedzą czy aparaturą badawczą. Głównym celem rozprawy było ukazanie oględzin zwłok i miejsca ich znalezienia oraz dalszych działań podejmowanych na podstawie zgromadzonego materiału dowodowego jako jednej kompleksowej czynności postępowania przygotowawczego. Praca składa się z siedmiu rozdziałów. W pierwszym przedstawiono rys historyczny rozwoju medycyny sądowej zarówno na świecie, jak i w Polsce. W kolejnym zaprezentowano zasady prowadzenia oględzin zwłok w miejscu ich znalezienia wraz z nakreśleniem rysu historycznego kształtowania się normalizacji dotyczącej tego zagadnienia. W rozdziale trzecim przedstawiono taktykę prowadzenia oględzin z uwzględnieniem wybranych przyczyn zgonu, bądź właściwości nietypowych miejsc znalezienia zwłok wraz z analizą danych statystycznych prezentujących częstotliwość występowania określonych zdarzeń. W rozdziale czwartym scharakteryzowano rolę opinii biegłego jako wyniku oględzin zwłok i miejsca ich znalezienia. Natomiast w piątym opisano możliwości, jakie niosą ze sobą oględziny zwłok, w tym m.in. scharakteryzowano rodzaje sekcji zwłok wraz z ich prawnymi regulacjami oraz sam przebieg sekcji, poruszono problematykę udziału prokuratora w oględzinach na sali sekcyjnej, a także pochylono się nad zagadnieniem wykorzystywania zwłok do celów naukowych. Dwa ostatnie rozdziały zostały poświęcone opisowi własnych badań ankietowych. W rozdziale szóstym zaprezentowano wyniki badań przeprowadzonych wśród pracowników zakładów medycyny sądowej. Miały one na celu przede wszystkim weryfikację spornych informacji, z którymi autorka spotkała się w literaturze podczas przygotowywania niniejszej dysertacji. Dotyczyły one m.in. obecności biegłych na miejscu znalezienia zwłok; żądania przez prokuratorów wykonania czynności, które nie należą do kompetencji lekarzy z zakresu medycyny sądowej; zlecania przez organ procesowy badań, które są nie tyle skuteczne i wiarygodne, co tanie; możliwości odstąpienia od przeprowadzania otwarcia zwłok w sytuacji, gdy ślady na miejscu zdarzenia wskazują, że czyn nie miał charakteru przestępstwa, a śmierć nastąpiła na skutek nieszczęśliwego wypadku bez udziału osób trzecich lub samobójstwa oraz potrzeby uregulowania prawnego czynności sądowo-lekarskiej sekcji zwłok z punktu widzenia lekarzy specjalizujących się w medycynie sądowej. Z kolei rozdział siódmy zawiera opis badań przeprowadzonych wśród prokuratorów i sędziów orzekających w sprawach karnych. Koncentrowały się one przede wszystkim na opiniach sędziów i prokuratorów w zakresie znaczenia oględzin zewnętrznych i wewnętrznych zwłok oraz ich wpływu na wykrycie sprawcy i udowodnienia oskarżonemu winy. Badania miały również wykazać, czy w trakcie oględzin zwłok na miejscu ich znalezienia popełniane są błędy, uchybienia lub niedopatrzenia i jak są one postrzegane z perspektywy prokuratorów w trakcie postępowania przygotowawczego oraz sędziów w trakcie postępowania sądowego. Ankiety zawierały także pytania o współpracę z biegłymi pod kątem merytorycznym i organizacyjnym.<br>The death is a universal and inevitable phenomenon, it is the culmination of life. The death has always accompanied us, scaring and fascinating at the same time. An expression of that fact is the reference to the theme of death in numerous literary, painting or film works. The data collected by the World Health Organization show that over 350,000 people die in Poland every year. The deaths that have been caused by criminal activities are particularly painful and arouse general opposition, because someone's life is brutally ended by the action of another human being. It is the responsibility of law enforcement authorities to explain each questionable death, and in the case of a criminal cause of death – to detect and convict the perpetrator or perpetrators. A positive solution of the case depends on the reliability of their actions and conduct in accordance with specific guidelines. According to the author of this dissertation, the examination of the corpses and the place where they were found provides a specific evidence. In 2017 alone, 360,399 preparatory proceedings were discontinued in total, of which 106,106 due to the failure to detect the perpetrator. Not all of them concerned the criminal death, but the statistics show the general scale of the problem of failure to resolve the case. Recognizing that the perpetrator always leaves traces at the crime scene, it should be stated that in the era of the development of modern technology there are no traces that cannot be detected. Therefore, it may be assumed that proceedings which are discontinued testify to unreliable and insufficiently accurate conduct of activities during the preparatory proceedings. The proceeding of a questionable death is characterized by the multiplicity and diversity of activities undertaken both during the examination of the corpses at the place where they were found and the place itself, as well as further actions taken in relation to the evidence collected. This mainly applies to the work of expert witnesses who carries out expert opinion based on the collected evidence. The professionalism and reliability of persons undertaking particular activities determines the final outcome of the proceedings in the form of knowledge of the cause of death and, if it is found that it was the result of a third party’s criminal activity, detection of the perpetrator and proving his guilt. Not only serious mistakes, but also irregularities and omissions can lead to an unresolved case. Among them, it is possible to distinguish both improperly carried out examination as well as the appointment of experts who do not have adequate knowledge or research apparatus. The main goal of the PhD thesis is to show that the examination of the corpses and the place where they were found, as well as further actions taken on the basis of collected evidence as one comprehensive action of preparatory proceedings. The PhD thesis consists of seven chapters. The first one presents the historical background to the development of forensic medicine both in the world and in Poland. The next one presents the principles of examination of corpses at the place where they were found, along with the outline of the historical features of normalization concerning this issue. The third chapter presents the tactics of visual examination taking into account selected causes of death or the characteristics of atypical places of finding corpses, together with the analysis of statistical data presenting the frequency of occurrence of specific events. In the fourth chapter, the role of expert witness’s opinion as a result of examination of the corpses and the place where they were found is characterized. In the fifth one, the possibilities of body examinations are described, including, among others: the types of post-mortems with their legal regulations and the course of the post-mortem itself, the prosecutor's participation in the examination in the post-mortem room is discussed as well as the issue of the use of corpses for scientific purposes. The last two chapters are devoted to the description of the author’s own surveys. The sixth chapter presents the results of research carried out among employees of forensic medicine institutions. They were primarily aimed at verifying the contentious information that the author met in the literature during the preparation of this dissertation. These included, among other things, the presence of experts on the site of finding corpses; the demand by prosecutors to perform activities which do not fall within the competence of doctors specializing in forensic medicine; the ordering by the procedural body of examinations that are not as effective and reliable as cheap; the possibility of resigning from the opening of the corpse in a situation where the traces at the scene indicate that the act was not a crime and death occurred as a result of an unfortunate accident without the participation of third parties or suicide; and the need to regulate judicial and medical activities of the post-mortem from the perspective of doctors specializing in forensic medicine. In turn, the seventh chapter contains a description of research carried out among prosecutors and judges adjudicating in criminal cases. They focused mainly on the opinions of judges and prosecutors regarding the importance of external and internal examination of corpses and their impact on detecting the perpetrator and proving guilt to the accused. The research is also supposed to show whether serious mistakes, irregularities and omissions are made during the examinations of corpses at the places where they were founded and how they are perceived from the perspective of prosecutors during the preparatory proceedings and judges during legal proceedings. The surveys also included questions about cooperation with experts in terms of authority and organization.

1 Abstrakt - Examination of a witness in civil proceedings The theme of this thesis is an examination of a witness in civil proceedings. The reason for choosing this theme was the internship at the District Court I had absolved, which allowed me to become more familiar with this topic and to know certain specifics of this means of evidence. Since the examination of a witness is one of the most frequent and used means of evidence, it deserves attention by itself. The thesis is composed of eight chapters. The first chapter deals with history of examination of a witness in the Czech lands, which was significantly influenced by old Roman civil procedure. Medieval civil proceedings in its early stages used in particular official witness provided in written form. In the course of time, the civil proceedings desisted from the official witness and oral testimonies prevailed. An interesting part of this chapter is an excursion into the heart of the oldest Czech legal documents and the view of the literal legislation of testimony. The aim of the following chapter is an overview of basic concepts and principles affecting the process of inquiry and evidence in general, which makes it easier to understand the following chapters, which are already dealing with the current legislation of examination of a witness. Under...

The South African Justice System is a broader system that brings law and order to society. This law and order also includes the constitutional rights of the sexually abused children. A special court dealing with cases of children who are sexually abused is functioning throughout the country. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for social workers working with children in these special courts. The problem identified is that in these courts no framework exists for social workers focusing on the guidance of the child through the processes of the Justice System. This includes the therapeutic guidance by means of brief or directive therapy. The research methodology for this study focused on developmental research by using the Intervention research model of Rothman and Thomas (1994). The phases implemented in the study were Problem analysis and project planning, information gathering and synthesis and design. Qualitative data was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews and integrated in phase two of the research report. A proto-type guideline was developed and needs to be evaluated in future research.<br>Social Work<br>M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

Summaries in Afrikaans and English<br>Text in Afrikaans<br>In hierdie proefskrif word daar gekonsentreer op die bewyslas in die nywerheidshof omdat die nywerheidshof se benadering met betrekking tot die bewyslas verskil van geval tot gevaL afhangende van die aard van die regshulp waarvoor die party je die nywerheidshof nader. In die tweede plek volg 'n bespreking van hoe en deur wie die voorlegging van getuienis aan die nywerheidshof mag geskied, hetsy by wyse van dokumente of getuies en daarbenewens oak 'n bespreking van watter soort getuienis aan die nywerheidshof voorgele mag word met spesifieke verwysing na inter alia, klankopnames, videobande en die resultate van leuenverklikkertoetse.<br>In this thesis there will be concentrated on the burden of proof in the industrial court because the industrial court's approach in regard to the burden of proof differs from case to case, depending on the nature of the legal aid for which the party /ies approaches the industrial court. In the second place a discussion will follow of how and by whom the presenting of evidence can be done, whether by documents or by witnesses, and in addition thereto also a discussion on which sort of evidence can be presented to the industrial court with specific reference to, inter alia, taperecordings, video tapes and the results of lie-detector tests.<br>Private Law<br>LL.M. (Handelsreg)