Child witnesses in the Canadian criminal courts - Recognizing their capacities and needs

Until the late 1980s, the Canadian legal system viewed children as inherent ly unreliable and made little effort to accommodate them. Legislation enact ed in 1988 (S.C. 1987 c. 24) permits children to testify without being swor n if they have the "ability to communicate" on "promising to tell the truth ." A child may testify from behind a screen or via closed circuit televisio n if this is "necessary to get a full and candid account of the acts compla ined of" and videotapes of an investigative interview may be played in cour t if the child "adopts" the contents when testifying. Judges have also chan ged the common law rules that affect criminal prosecutions when children ar e witnesses; for example, a child's out-of-court statements may be admitted if this is "necessary" and the statements are "reliable." Judges are more willing to find children to be "reliable witnesses" despite minor inconsist encies in their evidence. Although there continue to be cases of judicial i nsensitivity and the court process is sometimes very distressing for childr en, the Canadian legal system is displaying greater recognition of the need s and capacities of child witnesses.