What are Special Measures?
Special measures are reasonable adjustments which can be made in Court. These adjustments can assist people/parties to fully participate, understand and communicate to the best of their ability within Court proceedings.
If a person has additional needs which may cause them to struggle to provide evidence or attend Court, the court may decide that special measures are required within the proceedings. Additional needs can include disabilities, suffering from mental health, health concerns/issues or other concerns such as a person being a victim of coercive control and domestic violence, for instance.
What Special Measures are Available?
Special measures can include:
• Separating screens within the Court room to prevent parties seeing each other.
• The use of separate entrances and exits at court
• McKenzie friends
• Dyslexia aids (for instance, regular breaks to assist with concentration or an assistant to facilitate notes to counsel during proceedings)
• Separate waiting areas
• Appointments so that you can view the court room prior to the hearing date
• Equipment to assist with hearing or sight impairments
In addition to this, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 also provides special measures for victims of domestic abuse within private family proceedings. These measures can include:
• Preventing parties from seeing each other, or any witness that may be giving evidence
• Allowing parties to participate in hearings via live video link
• Prohibiting domestic abuse victims cross-examining in person
There are a number of ways special measures can look and work and these will differ depending on the configuration of the Court. For instance, the special measures may provide that the other parties attend first and the person with the measures in place enters last and does so behind a screen. Or, it may work the other way round where the other parties join the hearing after the person with the special measures is already seated. With this taken into account, it will be established how the special measures will look and work in the best interests of everyone involved and the layout of the Court.
A person with special measures will also be able to wait in a separate room, prior to the hearing. The separate room will provide that the parties are not accidentally crossing paths or coming into contact.
Who do I Speak to About Special Measures?
Depending on the Court, you could speak to your legal representative who may have a direct email or telephone number for you to arrange this with the Court.
