Louis Chua pushes for training programmes for judges who interview children to ensure “child’s voice is heard loud and clear”

SINGAPORE: As the Family Justice Reform Bill was discussed in Parliament on Monday (May 8), Workers’ Party MP Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC) pushed for training judges for judicial interviews with children to ensure the effectiveness of these interviews.

“The introduction of the Bill provides us with the opportunity to implement these measures, which would ensure that the child’s voice is heard loud and clear, especially pertaining to a matter that affects their lives substantially,” he said.

Mr Chua cited Justice Debbie Ong as having said that there are difficulties in conducting judicial interviews of children, including not having enough time to build rapport between the judge and the child, challenges in communication between them and the child’s discomfort with the court process.

“One recommendation laid out by the court is that judges should be equipped with the necessary skills to handle judicial interviews with the child, which could be achieved by training judicial staff,” said Mr Chua.

“This is a move seen in other countries with the common law system such as Australia, which called for the training of judicial staff back in 1995.

“Hence, Singapore could also consider adopting a similar approach,” he added.

Mr Chua, a father of two young children, said that guidelines could be implemented to provide an environment that can make the process effective, including determining who should be present during interviews, the tone, and what information the child should be given before the interview.

“Risks such as parental interference could also be mitigated by instructing parents not to ask their children about the interview,” said Mr Chua.

“These are some of the skills and knowledge that could be imparted to judges as part of a training programme to effectively conduct a judicial interview of a child.

“This would enable them to communicate with the child to gain a better understanding of their needs, wants, and views regarding the matter, which could aid them in their judgement,” he said.

Mr Chua’s speech may be viewed in full here. /TISG

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