16/4/08
NSW Premier Morris Iemma and victims groups are leading the call for barristers to adopt new rules to prevent aggressive questioning of victims in sexual assault trials. The NSW government wants the NSW Bar Association to toughen up its regulations and to discipline barristers who directly or incidentally harass or embarrass victims in the witness box. Current rules do not specifically address the issue of cross-examination of victims in such trials and NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos said that while the association had been open to some of the changes, there was some opposition.
See: http://news.theage.com.au/govt-seeks-tough-rules-for-rape-trials/20080416-26hn.html
Tags: Australia, Human Rights, Legal, Rape