EVIDENCE given in a video recording by a child to a social worker in relation to allegations of sexual abuse against her father can be admitted in District Court proceedings, the High Court decided yesterday.
A District Court judge had asked for the High Court's opinion on whether he should admit such evidence. The six-year-old girl has been in the care of a health board for a number of years following her mother's death.
Proceedings came before the District Court when a Fit Persons order summons was issued under Section 58 of the Children's Act and the father issued a Guardianship of Infants Act application under Section 11 of that Act. The two summonses were heard together.
The District Judge was informed that allegations of sexual abuse by the father of his daughter were to be advanced by the board. Evidence relating to this allegation, the court was informed, comprised a video recording of an interview with the child held by a social worker; and the social worker's opinion as to the validity of the allegation.
Objection was taken to the admissibility of this evidence by the father's solicitor. Having heard legal argument, the District Judge gave his reasons why he proposed to admit the evidence. The solicitor indicated an intention to appeal and the District Judge referred the case to the High Court for its opinion, by way of base stated.
Yesterday the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Costello, said the court had been asked whether the opinion expressed in the case as to the admission of "hearsay" evidence and procedures to be adopted in relation to video evidence was correct. He proposed to say that it was correct.
The court had a discretion to admit hearsay evidence of, children in proceedings instituted under Section 58 of the Children's Act, 1908.
The discretion should be exercised in favour of admitting the evidence, when it was necessary to admit it, in circumstances where the child was too young to give testimony in court; or the giving of, testimony would adversely affect the child's welfare.
The weight to be given to the evidence was a matter for the judge to determine.
Procedures to be adopted in light of the admission of hearsay evidence should protect the right to fair procedures of persons likely to be affected by the evidence.
The judge said that as he had pointed out in an earlier judgment, the court should only admit hearsay evidence when it was satisfied that it was necessary to do so in the interests of the welfare of the infant.