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How remote court hearings present challenges for young people

31 Aug 2020

Writing for RT脡 Brainstorm, Professor Ursula Kilkelly warns that care should be taken to ensure that remote court hearings necessitated by COVID-19 restrictions do not dilute the legal rights to which children are entitled under Irish and international law

's public health restrictions have necessitated changes in practice across the legal system. Principal among these is the increased use of remote court hearings where the parties participate in the process by way of video-link. In criminal cases, this has potential to improve the efficient operation of the court system. It also reduces the burden associated with transporting prisoners in and out of court on a daily basis, with the consequent disruption to their lives and the safe running of the prisons.

However, there are . This is especially so for vulnerable people, for whom it may exacerbate the challenges associated with participating effectively in the criminal process. For children, there are particular reasons why great care should be taken to ensure that the use of remote hearings does not further dilute the legal rights to which children are entitled under  and  law.