Independent separate legal representation for rape complainants in adversarial systems: lessons from Northern Ireland

In March 2018, Northern Ireland was divided by the acquittal of four men for rape, attempted rape, exposure, and perverting the court of justice in what became known as the ‘Belfast Rugby Rape Trial’. The case resulted in considerable debate about the ill‐treatment of rape complainants and prompted...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of law and society 2021-06, Vol.48 (2), p.250-272
Main Authors: ILIADIS, MARY, SMITH, OLIVIA, DOAK, JONATHAN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquittals & mistrials
Complaints
Court decisions
Courts
Legal counsel
Legal representation
Medical records
Medicine
Political factors
Public interest
Rape
Rugby
Sex crimes
Trials
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In March 2018, Northern Ireland was divided by the acquittal of four men for rape, attempted rape, exposure, and perverting the court of justice in what became known as the ‘Belfast Rugby Rape Trial’. The case resulted in considerable debate about the ill‐treatment of rape complainants and prompted the Gillen Review into the Laws and Procedures in Serious Sexual Offences. Gillen proposed the introduction of separate legal representation (SLR) to safeguard complainants’ sexual history and medical records pre‐trial. Since the Review was published, however, scepticism about the applicability of complainant SLR within an adversarial context remains. We examine the arguments for and against SLR in adversarial systems and propose a ‘Gillen‐plus’ framework for SLR that would not interfere with the accused's rights or public interest and could provide the basis for reform across other adversarial jurisdictions. We question whether Northern Ireland's unique socio‐political context strengthens or weakens the justifications for introducing SLR.
ISSN:0263-323X
1467-6478
DOI:10.1111/jols.12295