Waste management in India Essay

Waste management in India Essay INTRODUCTION India is the second most populated country a second fastest growing economy in the world. From the period of 2001-2026 the population of India is to increase from 1030 million to 1400 million, if we consider the increase rate to be 1.2 % annually then there will be an increase of 36% in 2026.accordingly about 285 million live in urban areas and about 742 million live in rural areas. (Census of India, 2001).In India urbanisation is becoming more because people are moving from villages to cities and there is a rapid increase in population in the metropolitan cities .Mumbai is the largest populated city followed by New Delhi and Kolkata. Generally, the greater the economic prosperity and the higher the percentage of urban population, the greater is the amount of solid waste produced (Hoornweg and Laura, 1999). In Hoornweg and Laura, 1999 1996 about 114,576 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste was generated by the urban population of India, by the end of 2026 it is predicted to increase to 440,460tonnes/day This great increase in the amount of MSW generated is due to changing lifestyle and living standards urban population(Hoornweg and Laura, 1999). STUDY AREA Delhi is a very densely populated area and is the capital of India. Since Delhi is an urbanised city the annual growth rate is increasing very rapidly in the last decade the growth rate has increased by 3.85%. Delhi is the capital of India this tells us that it is the centre for commerce trade and power, since it is one of the largest cities and the capital it produces excellent job opportunities, which account for its rapid increase in its population and increased pace of urbanization. Due to the fast urbanisation and the growing population the production of municipal solid waste is also increasing very rapidly. According to a survey Delhi generates about 7000 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste and this municipal waste is to ride about 17000-25000 tonnes/day by the year 2026.due to the rapid increase in the population and municipal solid waste the disposal of the waste has become a great head ache for the municipality in Delhi. Out of the waste gathered only 70-80% of municipal sol id waste is collected while the remaining is dumped onto streets or open ditches. Out of the 70-805 collected only 9% of the collected municipal solid waste is treated by composting the remaining is sent to the land fill sites. New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) are three municipal entities responsible for MSW management in Delhi. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). IDENTIFICATION OF SOURCES, TYPES AND COMPOSITION OF MUNCIPAL SOLID WASTE IN DELHI Sources and types of solid waste in Delhi: Residential:-the residence might be single family or multiple family dwellers the types of waste they produce are paper, food wastes , cardboard , leather, yard wastes, textiles, glass, special wastes, metals, plastics , ashes, wood and household hazardous wastes. Industrial: industries produce ashes, food wastes, packaging, special wastes, housekeeping wastes, construction and demolition materials and hazardous wastes. Commercial Institutional: they produce wood, metals, cardboard, glass, special wastes, Paper, food wastes, hazardous wastes. Municipal services: landscape and tree trimmings, Street sweepings, general wastes from beaches, parks, and other recreational areas, sludge. (Hoornweg, Daniel with Laura Thomas. 1999) Composition of waste: The population of Delhi is 13.9 million, and they produce 7000 tonnes/day of municipal solid waste at the rate of 0.500 kg/capital/day and accordingly the population as well as the MSW in increasing by 2026 the municipal solid waste generated will increase to 17,000-25,000 tonnes/day. Because of the increase in the MSW the municipal body will face a lot of problem after composting and incineration they would still have to deal with a lot of waste and this waste would generally go to landfill sites. The characterisation of the waste by its type, composition and source is important this will make monitoring and management of solid waste easy. Based on this we can use different types of processes to dispose the solid waste. The following information will tell about the generation of MSW from various sources is Delhi in the year 2004. Source wise generation of the MSW (tonnes/day) in Delhi Sources MSW(Tonnes/day) Residential waste 3010 Industrial waste 502 Hospital waste 107 Main shopping centres 1017 Construction waste 382 Vegetable and fruit markets 538 Source 🙠 MCD, 2004) The Tata Energy Research Institute conducted a study in 2002 in Delhi to determine the physical and chemical composition of municipal solid waste. This study in 2002 tells us that the composition of MSW is not changed that much from the past decade. According to the study the major part of the MSW consists of biodegradables fallowed by other wastes. Physical composition (as wt. %) of MSW Chemical composition (as wt. %) of MSW Parameters 2002 Biodegradable 38.6 Inert 34.7 Glass and Crockery 1.0 Paper 5.6 Non-biodegradable 13.9 Plastic 6.0 Parameters 2002 Moisture 43.8 Phosphorus as P2O5 0.3 Organic carbon 20.5 nitrogen 0.9 C/N ratio 24.1 Calorific value (kCal/kg) 713.0 Source 🙠 TERI, 2002) The composition of MSW of an urban population depends on various factors like place location, climate, commercial activities, population, cultural activities, economic status if the residence and urban structure .Before we do anything we need to know the composition of the MSW so we can determine the best suited operations and equipment for the facilities that dispose of the MSW. There was a survey conducted by Municipal Corporation of Delhi to evaluate the composition and properties of MSW. This study involved the different places in Delhi where MSW was produces. The following table tells the details of the study Composition (as wt. %) of MSW generating from various sources in Delhi Parameters Food waste Recyclables Inert Others Moisture Ash content C/N ratio Lower CV (kcal/kg) Higher CV Residential waste                            1.low income group 58.4 15.7 22.8 3.1 54 21.8 39 754-2226 2238-4844 2. Middle income group 76.6 21.2 0.5 1.7 65 6.3 30 732-1939 3415-6307 3.High income group 71.9 23.1 0.3 4.7 59 10.9 31 1300-1887 4503-5359 4. JJ Clusters (Slums) 69.4 14.1 15.8 0.7 63 15.6 46 204-1548 1582-4912 Vegetable markets 97.2 2.3 0.5 76 3.3 16 0-1309 3083-4442 Institutional areas 59.7 33.8 4 2.5 50 6.7 35 129-3778 2642-5459 Streets 28.4 12 56.1 3.5 19 56.7 51 1007-2041 1188-3289 Commercial areas 15.6 68 16.4 18 8.8 158 1815-4593 3373-6185 Landfills 73.7 9.2 10.8 6.3 47 15.3 38 191-4495 2042-5315 Source :- (MCD, 2004) RELEVANT REGULATIONS FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA The major policies and legislative frameworks for the municipal solid waste management in Delhi are Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000: according to this policy there is a set process for the collection, sorting, storage, transportation and disposal of the MSW. The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 and Amendment Rules, 2003:- bio-medical waste should be treated according to the standards of schedule v. The Delhi plastic bag (Manufacture, Sales and Usage) And Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 2000: according to this plastic bags should be recycled and non-degradable plastic bags should not be dumped in public drains. Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989 and Amendment Rules, 2000 and 2003:-there are limitations for the import and export of hazardous wastes and there should be proper handling and management of hazardous waste. (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGENENT IN DELHI Primary collection and storage of MSW in Delhi According to the Delhi municipal corporation act 1957 the owners, tenants or the person who is occupying the residence, commercial or industrial area is responsible for the disposal of the MSW at a particular area provided by the municipal corporation. But this rule was changed in 2000 which stated that the collection of MSW would be from house to house because of this rule the municipality cooperation faced a lot of problem due to the rise in population as well as residential houses so doth the systems are being applied to collect MSW. The municipal cooperation of Delhi is getting awareness programs to help the citizens understand the need of segregating the municipal solid waste by placing two separate bins one for recycling materials and the other non-recycling materials. By doing this the municipality is reducing the work load and they can dispose of the material in an easy way without any fuss. The municipal authority has a schedule for the collection of the waste example a part icular area will have a particular day for the collection of MSW. The Delhi municipal authority provides a primary storage facilities like dustbins, metal containers that have different capacities ranging from 1m3 ,4m3,10m3 to 12-15 tonnes these containers are placed in locations that are easily accusable to people. The size of the containers that are place at a primary storage location depends on the amount of MSW being produced by the area and the population of the area. These metal containers and bins are emptied with the help of modern hydraulic collection trucks. In Delhi on an average there are 3-4 collection sites. The MCD has employed about 50,000 people for primary storage collection, 2600 for secondary storage collection and about 370 people foe sweeping the streets. (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000) Transportation The MCD has many vehicles for the collection of primary and secondary storage waste. The MSD in its fleet contains refuse removal trucks, tractors and loaders they have about 100 vehicles to do the job. What these vehicles do is they collect the waste and take them to the landfill sites. Recycling and re-use Recycling and re-use of MSW is done in a widespread manner where waste pickers are employed as well as there are self employed waste pickers who collect the waste and sell them. How the system works is that these waste pickers and waste collectors gather waste from the residential areas, commercial areas, streets and landfill sites and they sell them to the dealers these dealers range from small, medium and large dealers. After the dealers purchase the materials they are sent to the recycling plant that is established by the government. The following table tells us at what rate the materials are sold (Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004) Prices of recyclable materials at different recycling levels Recyclable material Recyclable material Price at small recyclable dealer (Rs.) Price at medium recyclable dealer (Rs.) Price at large recyclable dealer (Rs.) Value added in the Process (%) Plastic             PET bottles 1.75 2.25-2.50 3.75-4 121 Milk packets 5.5-6.5 6-7 8-8.50 37.5 Hard plastic like shampoo bottles, caps 7-7.25 9 10-10.5 41 Plastic thread, fibres, ropes, chair cane 6-7 8-8.50 10 67 Plastic cups and glasses 7-8 10-12 13-14 80 Paper             White paper 3-3.25 3.75-4 5-6 76 Mix shredded paper 2-2.25 2.25-2.50 3-3.25 47 Cartons and brown packing Papers 2.25 2.50 3 33 Fresh newspaper 3-3.50 3.25-3.75 4.50-4.75 42 Tetra pack 1.75-2 2-2.25 2.75-3 53 Glass             Broken glass 0.50 0.90-1    90 Bottles 2 2.25-2.50    19 Aluminium             Beer and cold drink cans 40-45 43-48 75-85 88 Deodorant, scent cans 42-45 55-60 90-95 113 Aluminium foil 20-22 25-27 30-32 48 Other metals             Steel utensils 20-22 25-27 30 43 Copper wire 70-75 80-85 95-100 35 Source 🙠 Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004) Composting: Coming to composting only 9% of the total MSW is composted the remaining 91% is sent to landfill sites. There are three places set up by the Delhi municipal authority for composting MSW where as two plants are set up at Okhala and the other one is set up at Bhalswa .These plant has a treatment capacity of 150 tonnes/day but they are not utilised to the fullest because of the cost. The treatment capacity of the plant at Bhalswa is 500 tonnes/day. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008) Incineration: The municipal cooperation of Delhi also tried incarnation they built an incineration plant with the help of a foreign company. But this was shut down immediately because the MSW did not have enough calorific value the minimum calorific value is between 1200-1400 kcal/kg. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). Final disposal of MSW: Of the total amount of MSW collected 91% is sent to landfill. These landfill sites are located at the outskirts of the city. The land fill sites are the nearest available low line area or waste lands. The transfer of the MSW to these sites is by the vehicles that the Delhi municipality has. These landfill sites are chosen based only on availability and not on any other reason. These landfill sites are poorly maintained which arises a problem of health and safety as well as environmental concerns. There is another big issue because of the poor maintenance of the landfill sites there is a lot of leachate that is being produced mostly in the rainy season due to which the ground water as well as the river next to the landfill sites is getting contaminated. At these landfill sites with the help of bulldozers the MSW is levelled and compressed. The MSW is compressed to a layer of 2-5m and a covering is provided. At the binging there were 20 landfill sites that were created by the Delhi mun icipality out of which 15 are exhausted already. At present there are 3 landfill sites that are being operated one is at Gazipur it was started in 1984 , the other landfill site is located at Bhalswa it was started in 1993 ,the last operating land fill site is located in Okhala it was started in 1994. (Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008). HEALTH AND SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS Health and safety and environmental risks are a major concern in the MSW management in Delhi. The workers as well as the waste pickers are not provided with proper health and safety equipment like boots and gloves. The working conditions are unhygienic .the chance of transfer of infection is high and because of this if a worker gets sick he loses his wages. The workers are also not provided with medical insurance. The environmental risk is also high because the landfill sites are not maintained properly and the leachate gets leaked into the underground water as well as the river Yamuna .these issues should be looked into very carefully. IMPROVEMENT We can improve these poor conditions by privatisation. We can let the private sectors help in the disposal of MSW. The Delhi municipal authorities can open the incineration plant and dispose the waste. They can also involve the local communities as well as the NGOs to help in the disposal of waste. The municipal authorities should identify a proper treatment technology. The authorities should increase standards of reuse and recycling of waste mainly composting. CONCLUSION With the rapid increase in population and fast urbanisation of Delhi the current policies and regulations want be sufficient for controlling the rapid increase in the MSW. Due to this the health and safety as well as the environmental risks are increasing .The municipal authorities of Delhi cannot keep up with the MSW that is being produced now but according to a prediction the MSW by 2026 is going to increase 4 folds if this happens the municipal authorities will be facing a lot of problem. Even the Delhi government has realised this and they are making changes in the form of master plans. The government is also approaching the public and private sectors for help like the citizens and the NGOs. First of all people should be educated on proper disposal of MSW. The government should see to that the master plans are being properly followed at all levels. Only by doing this the Delhi municipal authorities can keep the MSW in control. Referencing Ankit agarwal, Ashish Singhmar, 2004. Municipal solid waste recycling and associated markets in Delhi, India. Resources, Conservation and Recycling Census of India,.2001 . Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (GoI). [Online].available http://www.censusindia.net Hoornweg, Daniel with Laura Thomas. 1999. Working Paper Series Nr. 1. Urban Development Sector Unit. East Asia and Pacific Region. Page 5. [Online] http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/urbanenvironment/sectors/solid-waste-sources.html. Hoornweg, D., Laura, T., 1999. What a waste: solid management in Asia. Working Paper Series No. 1. Urban Development Sector Unit, East Asia and Pacific Region, the World Bank, Washington, DC MCD, 2004. Feasibility study and master plan report for optimal solid waste treatment and disposal for the entire state of Delhi based on public and private partnership solution, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi, India. Ministry of Environment and Forests, 2000.the gazette of India. [Online]. Available http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/mswmhr.html TERI, 2002.Performance Measurements of Pilot Cities, Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, India. Vikash Talyan, R.P. Dahiya, 2008. State of municipal solid waste management in Delhi, the capital of India, Waste ManagementVolume 28, Issue 7, 2008, Pages 1276-1287 waste management essay in 150 words

Virtue Ethics Notes

Virtue Ethics Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived between 384 and 322 BCE. He was deeply interested in the idea of cause and purpose. On the Foundation Paper, you will have explored the ideas of the Four Causes and the Prime Mover. Both of these theories look at the idea of how things are caused and how they move towards their purpose. In ethics, any theory that looks at how we become better people over time, or that looks at how we move towards our purpose is called a teleological theory, from the Greek word telos meaning goal or purpose.Virtue ethics is teleological because it argues that we should practice being good, or virtuous people over time. Virtue ethics is therefore not deontological (like Kant’s ethics) and it is also not normative. It is known as aretaic ethics from the Greek word arete meaning excellence or virtue. Virtue ethics is not concerned with what we ought to do, but with what kind of person we should try to become. Aristotle argued that every act ion we perform is directed towards some purpose, that it tries to achieve something. He then argued that there are superior and subordinate aims.Subordinate aims are what we have to achieve first, before we achieve superior aims, for example, if you are hungry (which might be a superior aim) you need to make a sandwich to achieve that aim. Making the sandwich becomes a subordinate aim. The aim of life Aristotle argued that the superior aim of human life is to achieve something called eudaemonia. Eudaemonia is a Greek word that roughly translates to mean ‘happiness’ or ‘flourishing’. Aristotle argued that this is the aim that should govern our lives: the pursuit of happiness or pleasure.Eudaemonia is achieved when we become virtuous and Aristotle argued that this is a process that we grow towards by practising virtues. It is much like learning to play a musical instrument: the more you practise, the better you get. Some of you will have come across the word daemon before in the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy by Philip Pullman. All the characters in the books have daemons and Pullman says of them: ‘the daemon is that part of you that helps you grow towards wisdom. ’ Lyra, the central character in the trilogy has a daemon called Pantalaimon who is instrumental in helping her deal with situations wisely as the story progresses. [Pleasure] is also thought to be most important for the forming of a virtuous character to like and dislike the right things because pleasure and pain permeate the whole of life and have a powerful influence upon virtue and the happy life, since people choose what is pleasant and avoid what is painful. ’[1] Aristotle did realise however, that one person’s view of happiness might be very different from another person’s view of happiness. He distinguished between three types of pleasure/happiness: 1. Pleasure seekers: these are people who are driven by their basic desires and simply live from one pleasurable experience to the next: e. . eating good food, sleeping, drinking and having sex. 2. Seekers of honour: Aristotle saw politicians as seekers of honour. These are people who try to find solutions to important problems and get a sense of honour from doing that. 3. Those who love contemplation: these are philosophers and thinkers. Aristotle believed that the lowest forms of happiness are those found by the pleasure seekers. He wrote: ‘The utter servility of the masses comes out in their preference for a bovine [animalistic] existence. ’[2] For Aristotle, the distinguishing feature of humans is their ability to reason, which they get from their soul.In plants, the anima or soul produces the search for nourishment and food, and in animals, the anima produces the ability to move. Humans have these two characteristics, but also the ability to reason. Aristotle called humans ‘rational animals’. It is for this reason that he beli eved we should strive to achieve something better with our lives than simply living from pleasure to pleasure. Happiness for Aristotle is an activity of the soul, i. e. the correct and full use of the soul can help us to discover happiness. Aristotle divided the soul up into two parts, the rational part and the irrational part.Both parts of the soul are then divided in two. The rational part contains the calculative and scientific parts. The scientific part of the soul holds types of knowledge that are factual and not up for debate: in other words, a priori knowledge. The calculative part does what it says; it calculates. It weighs up knowledge and helps us to arrive at decisions. The irrational part of the soul contains the desiderative part and the vegetative part. The vegetative part of the soul is concerned with basic needs that keep us alive and is effectively our survival instinct.The desiderative part helps us to distinguish between needs and wants. For Aristotle, a correctly functioning soul uses all of the parts well and properly. Vardy and Grosch use the example of a fruitcake to demonstrate this. If the vegetative part recognises that I am hungry, it tells me to eat. The desiderative part may desire cake to alleviate the hunger: something I want, but don’t necessarily need. The scientific part of my soul knows that fruit is better for me than cake and the calculative part, weighing up the evidence, comes up with the suggestion of fruitcake. Thus all the parts of my soul have been used in the decision.This is very important, as only a soul that functions correctly can find happiness, or eudaemonia. The Virtues Now that we have seen the basic ideas that Aristotle had about humans and how they function, we can look at the virtues. Aristotle believed that the correct way to live, was to follow something called the doctrine of the mean, the middle way or temperance. Aristotle realised that human behaviour is made up of extremes which he called vic es of excess and vices of deficiency. Aristotle argued that the best course of action falls between the two and that this is the virtue.For example, if courage is the virtue, then cowardice is the vice of deficiency and foolhardiness is the vice of excess. Aristotle believed that there are two types of virtue: intellectual virtues and moral virtues. The intellectual virtues are learned through instruction i. e. they are taught. The moral virtues are developed through habit. The intellectual virtues are developed in the rational part of the soul and the moral virtues are developed in the irrational part of the soul. There are 9 intellectual virtues, as follows: †¢ Art or technical skill (techne) †¢ Scientific knowledge (episteme) Prudence or practical wisdom (phronesis) †¢ Intelligence or intuition (nous) †¢ Wisdom (sophia) †¢ Resourcefulness or good deliberation (eubolia) †¢ Understanding (sunesis) †¢ Judgement (gnome) †¢ Cleverness (deinotes) The 12 moral virtues, with their corresponding vices are set out in the table below. |Vice of deficiency |Virtue |Vice of excess | |Cowardice |Courage |Rashness | |Insensibility Temperance |Intemperance | |Illiberality |Liberality |Prodigality | |Pettiness |Munificence |Vulgarity | |Humble-mindedness |High-mindedness |Vaingloriousness | |Want of ambition |Right ambition |Over-ambition | |Spiritlessness |Good temper |Irascibility | |Surliness |Friendliness/civility |Obsequiousness | |Sarcasm |Sincerity |Boastfulness | |Boorishness |Wittiness |Buffoonery | |Shamelessness |Modesty |Bashfulness | |Callousness |Just resentment |Spitefulness | Aristotle recognised that not all people will attain to the virtues, but he did argue that a balance between the intellectual and moral virtues was essential. Practising the moral virtues alone, might result in conformity and being an automaton. Aristotle urged us to think about the life we lead too. He believed that the virtues were essential to a harmonious society.Aristotle believed that the overall well being of the group is much more important than the well being of individuals alone and argued that it is through encouraging the practise of the virtues that society will be a harmonious place. It is friendship that is the main aim of the moral life, for without friendship, justice is meaningless. Aristotle was not a deep believer in the after-life. Aristotle was a man who valued empirical (sense) evidence above all else and believed that if anything lived on, it would be our memories. Because of this, the point of being virtuous is not to achieve unity with God, or win a place in heaven, it is good because it is the right way to live.Modern virtue ethics In 1958, Elizabeth Anscombe wrote an essay entitled ‘Modern Moral Philosophy’. In this essay, she argued that deontological ethics had become outdated. The existence of God had a considerable shadow cast over it and she argued that the religious basis to ethi cs and morality (i. e. that God gives rules to humans to follow and they must follow them if they wish to get to heaven) could no longer be trusted. She also felt that ethics had moved away from a focus on a person’s character and had instead become obsessed with lots of rules and laws. Anscombe argued that it was time for a return of virtue ethics. Alasdair MacIntyreIn 1981, Alasdair MacIntyre (left) wrote a book called ‘After Virtue’ in which he argued that we should give serious consideration to Aristotle’s theory. In his book, he traced the history of virtue ethics and tried to establish a system of virtue ethics for the modern age. His basic complaint was that modern ethics put too much emphasis on reason and not enough stress on people, their characters and the contexts of their lives. MacIntyre noticed that as societies developed 2,500 years ago, so different virtues developed too. In the age of Homer (who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey), the follo wing virtues were paramount; †¢ Physical strength †¢ Courage †¢ Cunning †¢ Friendship These are known as the Homeric Virtues. As cities (the polis) developed, life slowly became more civilized.Aristotle developed his theory of virtues for the city of Athens and his virtues became known as the Athenian Virtues. They were (briefly) as follows: †¢ Courage †¢ Friendship †¢ Justice: retributive (getting what you deserve) and distributive (making sure that the goods of society are fairly distributed) †¢ Temperance †¢ Wisdom The emphasis on strength and cunning, needed in time of war, was gone. MacIntyre argued that the Athenian virtues of Aristotle were the most complete. For MacIntyre, the problems with ethics began during the Enlightenment, a period of time during the 17th and 18th Centuries when Science became more important for discovering truth.It was thought that a single, rational cause for morality could be discovered and thinkers such as Hume and Kant attempted to do this. MacIntyre realised that whilst the theorists in universities were trying to work morality out, society still needed virtuous people in everyday life; people who run jumble sales to raise money for the local hospital for example. MacIntyre argued that despite the theories of people like Kant and Hume, the virtues have lived on. What’s more, society depends for its very existence upon people who exhibit the virtues. MacIntyre argued that living a virtuous life depended upon getting into the habit of being moral and of striving towards being virtuous. He argued that this can give life an overall purpose and meaning.The virtues for MacIntyre, are any human quality which helps us to achieve the ‘goods’ in life. MacIntyre’s virtues are as follows: †¢ Courage: courage is very important as it helps us to face up to challenges that may come our way. †¢ Justice: this is a very important virtue. Justice is fairness and it is the art of giving someone what they deserve or merit. To be unjust is to be unfair. †¢ Temperance: this prevents us from acting rashly; losing our temper for example. †¢ Wisdom: this is not knowledge: it is the ability to know how to act in the right way in particular situations. †¢ Industriousness: hard work. †¢ Hope: being optimistic. †¢ Patience.Underneath the virtues must be the good will of the person. To be virtuous, one must desire to do virtuous things, rather than do them involuntarily. An act is not virtuous if it is not intended. MacIntyre also used the idea of internal and external goods, a version of which is seen in Natural Law. An internal good is specific to the activity itself; for example, giving money to charity results in helping others and developing a sense of satisfaction. An external good, is a good that is not specific to the act. For example, when giving to charity, your example may inspire others to do the same. MacIntyre al so warned that being virtuous does not prevent you from being open to vices.He gives the example of a great violinist who could be vicious, or a chess player who could be mean spirited. The vices would prevent these people from achieving maximum virtue. MacIntyre suggests that the three most important virtues are justice, courage and honesty. We can only achieve moral excellence through practising these three. They are core virtues that help to prevent organisations and institutions from becoming morally corrupt. It is largely through institutions that traditions, cultures and morality spread: if these institutions are corrupt, then vices become widespread. Philippa Foot Philippa Foot has also put together a modern version of virtue ethics.She has argued that the wise person directs their will to what is good and a good is something that is both intrinsically and extrinsically good (see MacIntyre above). The wise, or virtuous person also knows that there are particular ways of obtai ning certain goods and it is these ways of obtaining goods that are the virtues. She also argues that virtues and skills are different things. We may make a deliberate mistake with a skill, but not damage our character or reputation; for example, a teacher who deliberately misspells a word to draw their students attention to it. However, if you deliberately act in a non-virtuous way, your reputation and character will suffer. Foot also characterises virtues as ‘correctives’. She likens humans to planks of wood that are left out to season.Wood naturally warps and changes shape and it needs continuous straightening to make it straight. Virtues do the same for the human character: they continually straighten us out so that eventually we can, through habit, become virtuous. Evaluation of virtue ethics argued that justice and truthfulness are not a middle way, but are ethical absolutes that we have a duty to follow. Grotius argued that there are absolute moral laws that we h ave a duty to obey and that can be worked out by anyone of sufficient intelligence. ———————– [1] Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics, X 1172a. [2] Ibid: I, 1095b. ———————– The five primary intellectual virtues The four secondary intellectual virtues

Discuss the early life experiences of both Frankenstein Essay

   Shortly after returning from Ingolstadt, Elizabeth developed Scarlet fever. Victor’s mother cared for Elizabeth and nursed her back to health. But she also developed scarlet fever and died. The death of his mother affected Victor Frankenstein intensely, and it was one of the main reasons why Frankenstein started to develop a being â€Å"Invulnerable to none but a violent death. † â€Å"When his mother died he was devastated, his initial grief and disbelief gave way to a determination and an aim in life, which was to find out a new life form that would be stronger and smarter and would not die from disease. â€Å"- Andrew Prothero Victor Frankenstein had a particularly good upbringing. â€Å"No Human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself. â€Å"The opposite is true about the creature. The early life experiences of the Creature The Creature was ‘born’ as a result of Victor Frankenstein’s quest to create a being that couldn’t die. Frankenstein had left the Creature, and had gone to bed, but the Creature came to visit Victor Frankenstein in the night. â€Å"I beheld the wretch, the miserable monster which I had created. † The creature was so large and physically revolting that when it was ‘born’ Frankenstein was terrified and fled. â€Å"Breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. † The Creature first has contact with Humans when He is thrown out of a town. â€Å"The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped to the open country. † The Creature wanders the woods, freezing cold until He finds a fire. The Creature was intrigued by it’s warmth and â€Å"thrust [His] hand into the live embers. † The creature learns to talk by eavesdropping on the De Laceys and talks to De Lacey, who is Blind. â€Å"I knocked. â€Å"Who is there? † said the old man-â€Å"Come in† I entered; â€Å"Pardon this intrusion,† said I â€Å"I am a traveller in want of a little rest; you would greatly oblige me if you would allow to remain a few minutes before the fire. † ‘ â€Å"Enter,† said DeLacy; â€Å"And I will try in what manner I can relieve your wants, but, unfortunately, my children are from home, and, as I am blind, I am afraid I shall find it difficult to procure food for you. † ‘ â€Å"Do not trouble yourself, my kind host, I have food; it is warmth and rest only that I need. † The Creature also reads Paradise lost and Sorrows of Werter The Creator learns of his creator and the way in which he was created by reading Frankenstein’s journal. The Creature has no contact with the opposite sex, although Frankenstein starts to create a female partner for the Creature. â€Å"A turning point for both characters is when they meet and the creature requests for a companion. He goes to Frankenstein and demands a companion. ‘You must create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my beingi , this is a very reasonable statement in many ways, and one main argument would be that he is alone in the world with no one like him. † – Andrew Prothero. When Frankenstein changes his mind and smashes it, the Creature is deeply upset. The Creature has no friends, being â€Å"too horrible for human eyes† and learns to expect Ill- treatment. â€Å"I expected this reception,’ said the daemon. † The Creature lives in the forest and icy caves, a â€Å"hovel† and a â€Å"kennel. † â€Å"[I] fearfully took refuge in a low hovel, quite bare, and making a wretched appearance after the palaces that I had beheld in the village. This hovel, however joined a cottage of a neat and pleasant appearance; but, after my late dearly bought experience, I dared not enter it. My place of refuge was constructed of wood, but so low that could, with difficulty sit upright in it. † Conclusion Robert Winston has said, â€Å"Nurture counts more than nature. † I consider this to be true for the Creature, who is driven to commit His crimes through deprivation, neglect, and vicious persecution from Frankenstein and other townspeople, who in the 1700s would have treated the Creature as a freak. The Creature wasn’t educated in moral values, and so it didn’t know that it was wrong to commit the crimes that he committed. I believe that in Frankenstein’s case, He was nurtured in the very best way possible. His parents were â€Å"Possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence. † But it was in his Nature to strive for knowledge and to experiment. When the Creature was ‘born’, Frankenstein was an extremely poor parent and had none of the skills required to be a good parent. I feel almost no sympathy for Frankenstein, as He was unable to face up to his responsibilities once he had become a ‘father’ to this creature. # â€Å"The character of Frankenstein is not portrayed as evil, he is selfish and single minded in his pursuit to create perfection. He does not consider the implications of his dangerous experiments or believe that anything could possibly go wrong, his intentions he believed were good. Horrified at his failure and unable to accept what has happened he runs away from the problem, he is too vain to admit that what he has done is wrong. â€Å"- Andrew Prothero. I definitely feel more sympathy for the Creature, who has a desolate, lonely life. His crimes are forgivable, for he wasn’t educated in moral values. His actions were the result of extreme poverty and deprivation and ill- parenting. â€Å"The creature does not show his evil side until he has won the sympathy of the reader from his constant rejection and desperate need for love, he is shown to be highly intelligent and extremely sensitive to the feelings of the people that he has observed. † – Andrew Prothero I think this is how Shelley wanted us to feel. The early life experiences of the Creature and Frankenstein couldn’t be more different. † The ‘perfect’ baby is not just the product of its genes. It’s more the result of good nutrition, education, healthcare – and love† – Robert Winston.

Pre-recorded Video Evidence In Sexual Assault And Rape Trials - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 25 Words: 7512 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Research paper Level High school Did you like this example? Pre-recorded video evidence in sexual assault and rape trials The use of pre-recorded video evidence in sexual assault and rape trials. Has the law of criminal evidence managed to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the victims of sexual assault, who are usually the prime witnesses in prosecution proceedings, and protecting the due process rights of defendants charged with these crimes, in particular the right to properly test the evidence which has been admitted against them? Introduction: i. Background to the conflicting issues of this research In the title of this paper, it is conjectured that victims of sexual assault are usually the prime witnesses in prosecution proceedings for these types of crime. The reason for this is that most sexual assaults are perpetrated in private by someone already known to the victim. What is more, often there is no forensic evidence available and so victims of sexual assault are not only the prime witnesses in prosecution proceedings for these types of crime but, often, the only evidence that a crime has taken place at all . This can place real burden on sexual assault victims during the trial stage of the prosecution. For one thing, the victim must relive the traumatic events in question, by explaining them to the court, jury and defence barrister. Secondly, a common defence strategy is to undermine the credibility of the victim and to convince the Court either that no sexual contact occurred or that it was consensual. In the absence of forensic evidence, often it boils down to the victi ms word over that of the defendant and it is very difficult to resolve two conflicting accounts to the satisfaction of the criminal standard of proof required for a successful conviction. As the Office for Criminal Justice Reform writes, â€Å"Those victims whose cases do make it to court are faced with the intimidating prospect of having to recount traumatic and often intimate details, endure cross-examination and in some cases have information about their past sexual behaviour presented to the court as evidence against them. † In light of this, it is not surprising that (i) the rates of conviction for rape and sexual assault are so low (approx. 6% of all cases brought result in a successful prosecution ); and, (ii) a substantial number of victims of sexual assault or rape do not report their crimes to the police, either in a timely manner* or at all**, or choose to drop their claims when it transpires that they will have to testify as a prime witness in the prosecution a gainst their attacker . Research suggests that the drop-out rate is currently 33%. As the Office for Criminal Justice Reform writes, â€Å"Research has found that victims who declined to complete the initial investigative process and victim withdrawals accounted for over one-third of cases lost at the police stage. Key contributory factors were not being believed and fear of going through the criminal justice process. † *The chances of securing a successful prosecution against a rapist or sexual attacker decrease substantially as time passes and therefore anything that leads victims to delay reporting their crime to the Police has the consequential effect of reducing the rate of successful conviction. **This author does not purport to suggest that these are the only reasons why victims of sexual assault choose not to report their crimes to the Police; it is well documented that victims of sexual assault often feel shame and guilt for what has happened to them, as if the y are somehow to blame, and this is another major reason why such victims often prefer to keep their ordeals secret . Other factors include fear of retaliation and the distrust of the reactions of family and friends . While these barriers to timely reporting and successful prosecution cannot all be redressed by criminal justice reform, nevertheless, in light of the fact that some of these barriers emanate from fear of or lack of confidence in the court process itself, the law of criminal evidence can play an important role in mitigating some of these barriers; for example, by protecting these vulnerable witnesses and making the ordeal of trial less traumatic, the law of criminal evidence could, eventually, change victims perceptions of the trial process and make them less likely to allow their fears of that process to interfere with their decisions to report their sexual assaults. One reform proposal which is often discussed in this context is the use of pre-recorded video tes timony for victims of sexual assaults. The idea behind this proposal is that victims of such crimes are less likely to be afraid of the trial process if they know that they can record their testimony in advance and that they cannot be cross-examined by their attackers barristers (even if they are asked to respond to certain questions within their testimony). Such reforms have been implemented in the field of youth justice for some time—for example, there are various provisions under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 which allow for the use of video links to shield child victims of sexual or physical abuse from their attackers—but are relatively new in the context of adult rape and sexual assault cases. While the use of video testimony is clearly beneficial to victims, prima facie it poses a real risk to the integrity of the due process rights of defendants charged with these crimes. Under the criminal justice system of England and Wales there is a pre sumption that all persons charged with a criminal offence are innocent of that offence until proven guilty . This is provided, inter alia, by Article 6(2) of the Human Rights Act 1998 which states that, â€Å"Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. † What is more, it is a human right of all persons charged with a criminal offence to be able to challenge effectively the accuracy of any evidence which is admitted against them. This is provided inter alia by Article 6(3) of the 1998 Act which states that, â€Å"Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights: (†¦) (b) to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence; (†¦) (d)to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him†¦ † In this present research paper, we are concer ned specifically with the question of whether or not the use of video testimony in sexual assault cases (involving both adult and child victims) unduly prejudices the right of criminal defendants to properly challenge the accuracy and reliability of evidence adduced against them. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Pre-recorded Video Evidence In Sexual Assault And Rape Trials" essay for you Create order ii. The aims and objectives of this research: The primary aim of this research is to evaluate the extent to which the law of criminal evidence has managed to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the victims of sexual assault, who are usually the prime witnesses in prosecution proceedings, on the one hand, and protecting the due process rights of defendants charged with these crimes, in particular the right to properly test the evidence which has been admitted against them, on the other? The secondary aim of this research is to derive recommendations for reform to the law of criminal evidence to effect a more appropriate balance between protecting the victims of sexual assault on the one hand, and protecting the due process rights of defendants charged with these crimes on the other. The objectives of this research paper are as follows: To identify the legal provisions which purport to allow the use of video evidence in sexual assault and rape trials; to identify the procedures which must be adhered to when ut ilizing this kind of evidence; to evaluate the likely impact of the use of video testimony on rates of reporting and successful prosecution; to examine the right of criminal defendants to test the evidence relied upon against them by the Crown Prosecution Service and to identify the extent to which it might be argued that this right is a qualified right under the law of England and Wales; to evaluate the extent to which the use of video evidence might prejudice the right of criminal defendants to test the evidence relied upon against them by the Crown Prosecution Service; to identify and critically evaluate the safeguards which exist currently to ensure that the use of video evidence is not permitted where its use would prejudice the ability of the defendant(s) in question to receive a fair trial; to evaluate whether or not an appropriate balance has been struck in practice between protecting the interests of victims through the use of video testimony on the one hand and preserving the interests of justice and the right of criminal defendants to test the evidence relied upon against them by the Crown Prosecution Service, on the other; to derive high level recommendations for reform to the way that the law currently permits the use of video evidence in sexual assault and rape trials. iii. The structure of this research paper. The structure of this paper takes the following form: In chapter one, this author traces the development of the use of video evidence in sexual assault and rape trials, identifies the legal provisions which regulate the use of such evidence and the procedures which must be followed when this type of evidence is relied upon by the Crown Prosecution Service and critically evaluates whether or not the use of video evidence is really likely to have any impact on rates of reporting and rates of successful prosecution of rapists and sexual offenders. In chapter two, this author traces the development of the right of criminal defendants to a fair trial, generally, and, specifically, their right to test the evidence adduced against them, identifies the legal provisions which give rise to these rights and evaluates the nature of those rights (i.e. whether they are absolute rights or qualified rights) and evaluates the extent to which the use of video evidence might prejudice the right of criminal defendants to test the evidence relied upon against them by the Crown Prosecution Service, and the circumstances under which that prejudice is likely to be the greatest. In chapter three, this author identifies and critically evaluates the safeguards which exist currently to ensure that the use of video evidence is not permitted where its use would prejudice the ability of the defendants to receive a fair trial and evaluates whether or not, in practice, the law has managed to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the interests of victims through the use of video testimony on the one hand and preserving the interests of justice and the right of criminal defendants to test the evidence relied upon against them by the Crown Prosecution Service, on the other. Also, in this chapter, this author derives high level recommendations for reform to the way that the law currently permits the use of video evidence in sexual assault and rape trials. Finally, this author presents his conclusions to this research. 1. Using video evidence in sexual assault and rape trials; is it likely to have a positive impact on rates of reporting and rates of successful prosecution of rapists and sexual offenders? As noted in the introduction of this paper, it has been argued in the academic literature that a significant barrier to the timely reporting of sexual offences (and also one of the reasons why the drop-out rate—i.e. the number of victims choosing to withdraw their claims before the conclusion of the trial—is so high ) are common victim perceptions that if they report their assault they will be subjected to a traumatic trial process in which their account of events will be cross-examined by their perpetrators legal representatives and their character will be called into question . The use of pre-recorded video testimony is designed to mitigate these barriers (ultimately) to prosecution by protecting these vulnerable witnesses and making the ordeal of trial less traumatic for them. Over time, it has been conjectured, victims perceptions of the trial process will change and they will be less afraid of the trial process and more willing to report their sexual assaults when they occur. Currently, there are two video-based special measures for vulnerable victims . These are provided by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. The first is where the victim is permitted to present his or her evidence-in-chief in the form of a video statement rather than in person. This is provided by section 27(1) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 which states that, â€Å"A special measures direction may provide for a video recording of an interview of the witness to be admitted as evidence in chief of the witness. † Section 27(4) of the 1999 Act however makes it clear that dispensation to use this special measure will only be granted where the court is satisfied that the witness in question will be made available for cross-examination (whether that be cross-examination in person or via a ‘special measure alternative equivalent): â€Å"Where a special measures direction provides for a recording to be admitted under this section, the court may nevertheless subsequently direct that it is not to be so admitted if— (a) it appears to the court that— (i) the witness will not be available for cross-examination (whether conducted in the ordinary way or in accordance with any such direction), and (ii) the parties to the proceedings have not agreed that there is no need for the witness to be so available; or (b) any rules of court requiring disclosure of the circumstances in which the recording was made have not been complied with to the satisfaction of the court. † The intention behind this provision was to ensure that criminal defendants accused of crimes against vulnerable victims were not unduly prejudiced by the existence of this special measure; if the court and jury watched a video statement from a victim explaining how they witnessed the defendant commit a criminal offence, that defendant would be grossly prejudiced if he did not have an opportunity to challenge any aspects of the video statement in question. The second type of video-based special measure provided under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 is where the cross-examination and re-examination of a witnesss testimony by the defences legal team is pre-recorded rather than conducted live in the courtroom, in front of the defendant. This is provided by section 28(1)(b) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999: â€Å"Where a special measures direction provides for a video recording to be admitted†¦ as evidence in chief of the witness, the direction may also provide— (a) for any cross-examination of the witness, and any re-examination, to be recorded by means of a video recording; and (b) for such a recording to be admitted, so far as it relates to any such cross-examination or re-examination, as evidence of the witness under cross-examination or on re-examination, as the case may be. † To ensure that this special measure does not dilute the defences abi lity to cross-examine or re-examine a witness, the 1999 Act provides that the court and the defences legal representatives must be able to see and hear the live recording session and be able to communicate directly with the persons in the room. The Act also provides that the defendant should be able to see and hear the examination and that he or she should be able to communicate with his or her legal representatives throughout the process: â€Å"Such a recording must be made in the presence of such persons as rules of court or the direction may provide and in the absence of the accused, but in circumstances in which— (a) the judge or justices (or both) and legal representatives acting in the proceedings are able to see and hear the examination of the witness and to communicate with the persons in whose presence the recording is being made, and (b) the accused is able to see and hear any such examination and to communicate with any legal representative acting for him. † If a court has granted the use of this special measure then it is imperative that the defences legal representatives ask the child witness all of the questions, the answers of which they plan to later rely on in court as they will not be entitled to put any new questions to the witness on completion of this recording session unless any new matters come to light which the defendant or his legal team could not have been expected to have discovered previously with reasonable diligence . These special measures are available to adult victims of sexual assault or rape by default. However, it is up to each witness to decide whether or not they wish to take advantage of one or both of these measures. This presumption of vulnerability is provided by section 17(4) of the 1999 Act which states that, â€Å"Where the complainant in respect of a sexual offence is a witness in proceedings relating to that offence (or to that offence and any other offences), the witness is eligible for assi stance in relation to those proceedings by virtue of this subsection unless the witness has informed the court of the witness wish not to be so eligible by virtue of this subsection. † By virtue of section 16(1) of the 1999 Act, these measures are also available to child witnesses aged sixteen or less: â€Å"For the purposes of this Chapter a witness in criminal proceedings (other than the accused) is eligible for assistance by virtue of this section (†¦) if under the age of 17 at the time of the hearing†¦ † For child witnesses, not only is there a presumption that their testimony will be given via video but this is nearly mandatory. As Burton, Evans and Sanders explain, â€Å"For child witnesses in need of special protection (defined by section 21 of the YJCE Act) the provision of video evidence-in-chief or live television links is near mandatory, and it is not necessary to demonstrate that they would improve the quality of the witnesss evidence. † Leaving aside any discussion of the potential prejudicial impact that these special measures can have on defendants ability to defence a claim of sexual assault or rape of a minor or adult—a discussion which will be reserved for the following chapter of this paper—the first question which, in the opinion of this author, must be asked, is whether or not these special measures actually mitigate the barriers to effective testimony identified previously in this paper. It will be recalled that one such barrier was the victims fear of cross-examination and being made to feel like the one to blame for the ordeal . And yet, while the second of the two special measures discussed above does allow the cross-examination to take place in a venue other than a court of law, in all other respects a video cross-examination is equivalent to a live court-based cross-examination. As the Crown Prosecution Service explains, in its ‘CPS Policy for Prosecuting Cases of Rape, †Å"Giving evidence in court can be a particularly traumatic experience for victims of rape. In particular, some victims may find it difficult to give evidence in the sight of the defendant. If this is so, we can apply to the court for the victim to give evidence in another way so that he or she can give their best evidence. These alternative ways of giving evidence are known as ‘special measures†¦ [While] the victim or witness will not have to give ‘live evidence about what happened to them†¦ they will still have to answer questions put to them by the defendants lawyer in crossexamination. † (emphasis added) Therefore, while this special measure might make it more comfortable for a vulnerable or intimidated witness, it is not entirely clear, at least in theory, how it purports to mitigate the victims fear of cross-examination itself. This is a point raised by Childs and Ellison, who argue that the efficacy of these special measures are undermined by the fact that the process remains an adversarial one, even though it is pre-recorded and conducted in a venue other than a court of law: â€Å"There is also a risk†¦ that a commitment to traditional adversarial values and methods may yet limit the impact of reforms. † Another barrier that was identified previously was the victims fear of being in contact with the defendant. While pre-recorded video evidence certainly allows a vulnerable witness to give their testimony and responses (to cross- or re-examination) without having to be in the same room as the defendant, as noted previously the defendant is allowed to listen into the recording session and therefore it is not entirely clear how the victim receives any benefits from these special measures whatsoever, other than those which they would be able to enjoy anyway through the use of screens or live links pursuant to sections 23, 24 or 25 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 . Another criticism which has been raised, especially in respect of the use of pre-recorded video cross-examination, is that, historically, these measures have not often been made available to victims of sexual offences, the Courts preferring to rely upon live testimony, whether given orally in court or via a live video link (via the special measures provided by sections 23 and 24 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. As Childs and Ellison argue, writing in 2000, â€Å"While the special measures contained in the YJCEA 1999 are to be welcomed, the protection they afford rape complainants has, disappointingly, been constrained by a continuing attachment to the primacy of oral evidence†¦ Adult rape complainants are to benefit from the availability of screens and CCTV but they are to be denied the protection inherent in the use of video-recorded evidence. Generally, adult rape complainants will still be required to give live oral evidence in criminal proceedings, albeit via a TV link. † Another criticism which has been levied against the use of these video-based special measures is that somehow a victims testimony is diluted by the fact that the jury is unable to see the witness in a live environment. As Burton et al note, â€Å"Some practitioners had reservations about televised evidence because they thought it was less convincing than ‘live evidence. † While this argument has real intuitive appeal, in reality there is very little evidence to support this view. As Burton et al conclude, â€Å"There is no research evidence to indicate that acquittals are more likely using these methods, however. † This is something that will be discussed in more detail in the following section of this paper. In conclusion to this chapter, while this author cannot comment upon the general advantages or disadvantages of video-based special measures in cases of rape or sexual assault*, he is not wholly convinced that they manage to discharge the barriers which are faced by rape and sexual assault victims and therefore is not convinced that their use is having the effect of increasing rates or reporting and conviction for these types of offence. Victims still have to undergo a adversarial style cross-examination, which has been reported to be the most daunting prospect of a rape trial for rape victims, and even though this might be conducted in a venue outside of the courtroom, the rape victim nevertheless has to respond directly to questions from the defendants legal representatives while knowing that the defendant is listening into the recording session and able to communicate with their lawyers throughout. In light of this, the pre-recorded video measures provided by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 is unlikely to alleviate victim perceptions that if they report their assault they will be subjected to a traumatic trial process in which their account of events will be cross-examined by their perpetrators legal r epresentatives and their character will be called into question. In any event, it appears that these measures, particularly pre-recorded video cross-examinations, are rarely used with adult victims, the Courts preferring to grant other special measures to these vulnerable witnesses such as screening or live CCTV links. * In this chapter this author has been concerned only with the extent to which video-based special measures are able to help vulnerable victims overcome the barriers which are reported to be responsible for under-reporting and low overall conviction rates. These measures may well have benefits other than overcoming these barriers, but these are not of relevance to this present research paper. Therefore, one should be cautious not to use the conclusions of this paper to support an argument that video-based special measures should not be used; all that can be said is that they are not apparently very effective at meeting their direct intended objectives. 2. The right of criminal defendants to a fair trial and to test the evidence adduced against them; are these rights prejudiced by the use of video evidence and under what circumstances, in particular? As noted in the introduction to this paper, Article 6(3) of the 1998 Act provides that any person charged with a criminal defence has the right to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him . The question which falls for determination in this chapter is whether or not this right is unduly prejudiced by the use of the two video-based special measures identified and analysed in the previous section of this paper. While it is the case that these special measures are not used in every case of adult rape or sexual assault, in this chapter we are concerned with the potential for prejudice when either or both of these measures are employed. In other words, the fact that these special measures, particularly pre-recorded video cross-examination, are rarely used in adult cases will not (and should not ever) be cited as a defence to any claims of prejudice which ar e levied towards them. The first thing to do is to evaluate what kind of right is created by Article 6(3)(d) of the Human Rights Act 1998; if this right is an absolute right then it would never be appropriate to derogate from it in the interests of protecting vulnerable witnesses . However, if the right is a qualified right, then it might be legitimate, where the circumstances dictate, to derogate wholly or partially from that right to serve a competing but legitimate interest . If one relied upon the wording of Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 then one would be forced to conclude that Article 6(3)(d) is an absolute right as it states unequivocally that all persons charged with a criminal offence are entitled to enjoy this right, which grants upon them an ‘equality of arms and the tool required to be able to clear themselves of the charges brought; namely, the right to cross-examination . This interpretation seems to be in line with the Strasbourg jurisprudence . However, there is good common law authority for the proposition that this right is a qualified right and also for the proposition that, under certain circumstances, it is appropriate to derogate from this right in the interests of protecting vulnerable witnesses. For example, in the recent case of Bonhoeffer, R (on the application of) v General Medical Council [2011] EWHC 1585 the Court allowed a key witness to admit his evidence in written form only, which precluded cross-examination, on the basis that the witness would face persecution back in Kenya, where he lived, if he appeared as a witness and admitted to being a homosexual. In this case, the Court accepted that the defendants right to cross-examination under Article 6(3) of the Human Rights Act 1998 had been derogated from; however, the Court justified this derogation using a utilitarian (least harmful path) justification. A similar justification was employed in the case of R v Xhabri [2005] *. *Some authors have argued that this interpretation of Article 6 is at odds with the wording of the 1998 Act and while this present author agreed with that thesis, this is not the time or the place to engage with this subsidiary debate. For our present purposes, all that matters is that it is settled law that Article 6(3)(d) is a qualified right and not an absolute standard. Therefore, we must conclude that the right to cross-examine is a qualified right and, consequently, that the potential for video-based special measures to cause an infringement of a defendants right to cross-examine is limited; after all, it cannot be said to be an infringement of a right if that derogation can be legitimized through legal authority. In any event, it is not entirely clear that the use of video-based evidence is always likely to be prejudicial to defendants. For one thing, as argued in the previous chapter of this paper, these special measures do not substantially affect the cross-examination process, and therefore i t is not straightforward to contend that a defendants right to cross-examine is affected, let alone limited, by the employment of pre-recorded video cross examination. What is more, there is no evidence to suggest that a conviction is more likely to result from the use of video-based special measures. In their experimental study entitled, ‘The impact of pre-recorded video and closed circuit television testimony by adult sexual assault complainants on jury decision-making, Taylor and Joudo found that juries were not more likely to convict defendants charged with rape or sexual assault when the victims testimony was presented as a pre-recorded video, than they were when it was presented face-to-face or via a live link CCTV . This study had a strong methodology: the researchers conducted 18 mock trials using a total of 210 jurors. In one third of the trials, the jurors heard the victims evidence live, face-to face; in one third of the trials, the jurors heard the victims evide nce live, via a live link CCTV system; and, in the remaining third of the trials, the jurors heard the victims evidence from a pre-recorded video. After the trials, the researchers undertook perception and attitude surveys via a questionnaire. This sought to measure a range of attitudes and perceptions including the degree to which the jurors felt they were able to empathize with the victim and whether or not they thought the accused was guilty of the crime. The conclusion of this study was that the mode of transmission of victim testimony had no statistically significant impact upon juror perceptions: â€Å"The study finds, overall, that immediately following the trial but before jury deliberation, mode of presentation of testimony (face-to-face, CCTV or pre-recorded videotape) did not impact differentially on juror perceptions of the complainant or the accused, or guilt of the accused. † While the methodology of this research study was generally sound, there is anecdotal evidence to support the view that real victims come across better on pre-recorded video than they do live. As the Office of Criminal Justice Reform reports, â€Å"In one case the video was not used as it required substantial editing to remove inadmissible evidence. However, prosecution counsel later commented that they wished in hindsight that the video had been used, as the victim was not as good live as on the recording. † While one might argue that such evidence is of limited use, in the opinion of this author if Taylor and Joudos study was repeated using real rape victims in real rape trials then it is highly likely that the mode of presentation of testimony would impact differentially on juror perceptions of the complainant; after all, they are likely to feel more comfortable giving testimony about their horrific ordeal in a video recording studio than they would be giving that same testimony live, in a court of law, with twelve jurors, a judge and several lawyers all l ooking at them. Further research needs to be conducted to test these claims empirically. If nothing else, the pre-recorded testimony would likely have been recorded closer to the actual events with which the defendant has been charged and therefore the witnesss memory of events should be fresher and more compelling. As the Office for Criminal Justice Reform concedes, â€Å"Enabling the jury to see and hear a rape victim being interviewed at the time of the complaint by means of a video recorded statement used as evidence in chief will usually provide more compelling and coherent evidence than evidence given in court several months later. † If the above conclusions are correct, then one might argue that rather than prejudicing defendants, all these measures are doing is ensuring that jurors more information on which to base their decisions. In light of the fact that the jurors are asked to presume innocence and derive guilt from lack of reasonable doubt, it follows that the provision of extra information will result in a greater number of successful convictions over time. However, it should also result in an increase in the accuracy of jurors verdicts and therefore it is more likely to adversely affect defendants who are guilty of the crimes with which they have been charged than it is defendants who are, in fact, innocent. In conclusion, it must be argued that, in the vast majority of cases, the use of video-based special measures will not significantly affect defendants rights to cross-examine under Article 6(3)(d) of the Human Rights Act 1998. However, each case should be approached on an ad hoc basis and where there is a conflict in a given case, the interests of the defendant should be weighed up against the interests of the victim and a decision reached as to the appropriateness of employing video-based special measures in that case. In the following and final chapter of this paper, this author will briefly evaluate the safeguards that are in place to ensure that the Courts approach this balancing act appropriately. 3. Evaluating the safeguards which are in place to prevent video evidence from being used when it would be contrary to the interests of justice for it to be so used; does the law currently strike the correct balance between protecting the victims of sexual assault on the one hand, and protecting the due process rights of defendants charged with these crimes on the other? The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 makes it clear that video evidence should not be admitted as evidence-in-chief if to do so would cause prejudice to the accused disproportionate to the legitimate aim of protecting the witness. This is provided by section 27(3) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, which states that, â€Å"In considering†¦ whether any part of a recording should not be admitted under this section, the court must consider whether any prejudice to the accused which might result fr om that part being so admitted is outweighed by the desirability of showing the whole, or substantially the whole, of the recorded interview. † What is notable about the wording of this provision is how wide a judicial discretion it confers on the courts to override legitimate prejudice concerns; while it does point to the need for a proportionality assessment of some sort, it seems to suggest that this is just one of the factors that the court should take into account when making its decision whether or not to allow video evidence-in-chief to be admitted. This discretion is restricted marginally by section 27(2) of the 1999 Act which provides that, â€Å"A special measures direction may, however, not provide for a video recording, or a part of such a recording, to be admitted under this section if the court is of the opinion, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, that in the interests of justice the recording, or that part of it, should not be so admitted . † However, the concept of ‘the interests of justice is itself a broad one and therefore, in practice, the discretion of the court to decide whether or not to allow video evidence-in-chief to be admitted remains very broad indeed, notwithstanding this provision. The leading authority on the resolution of the interests of vulnerable witnesses and the Article 6 rights of criminal defendants is the case of R v Camberwell Green Youth Court and others [2003] . In this case the Court confirmed that the special measure provisions of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 were compatible with Article 6(3)(d) of the Human Rights Act 1998 so long as they are employed legitimately to protect vulnerable witnesses (in that case, a child). This case confirms that where the legitimate interests of a vulnerable witness come up against the right of a criminal defendant under Article 6, the former will usually, if not always, prevail. Conclusions to this research. In answer to the question, has the law of criminal evidence managed to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the victims of sexual assault, who are usually the prime witnesses in prosecution proceedings, and protecting the Article 6 rights of defendants charged with these crimes, in particular the right to properly test the evidence which has been admitted against them, this author presents the following assertions: (1) The video-based special measures considered in this paper do not manage to discharge adequately the barriers which are faced by rape and sexual assault victims and are not having the effect of increasing rates or reporting and conviction for these types of offence. For these measures to be effective they would have to circumvent altogether the adversarial cross-examination process and be used more frequently. (2) As it stands, because the process of pre-recorded cross-examination is so similar to live cross-examination, at least in terms of the defe ndants right to properly test the evidence levied against him or her, concerns that these measures over-step the boundaries of Article 6(3)(d) of the Human Rights Act 1998 are overstated. (3) In any event, the right conferred by Article 6(3)(d) of the Human Rights Act 1998 is a qualified right and so it is legitimate to derogate from it in the interests of protecting vulnerable witnesses. (4) The Courts presumption that the interests of a vulnerable victim should override the interests of a defendant to the safeguards enshrined in Article 6(3)(d) of the Human Rights Act 1998 is not, in the opinion of this author, necessarily appropriate. However, in light of the previous conclusions, this point is moot. References/ Bibliography: Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Convicting Rapists and Protecting Victims – Justice for Victims of Rape A Consultation Paper Spring 2006—A consultation (London, HMSO, 2006) [Online] https://www.mensaid.com/documents/cons-290306-justice-rape-victims.pdf accessed 19th February 2012. J Gregory and S Lees, Policing Sexual Assault (London, Routledge Publishing, 1999). R McElvaney, Delays in Reporting Childhood Sexual Abuse and Implications for Legal Proceedings. In D P Farrington, C R Hollin and M McMurran (eds.), Sex and violence: the psychology of crime and risk assessment (London, Routledge, 2001). L L Holmstrom and A W Burgess, The victim of rape: institutional reactions (2nd edition, London Transaction Publishers, 1978). C Gibson and D M Vandiver, Juvenile sex offenders: what the public needs to know (London, ABC-CLIO, 2008). Genevieve Muinzer, New to the UK: a guide to your life and rights (London, Routledge, 1987). The Human Rights Act 1998. N Morris, Reforms give rape victims right to give video evidence (London, The Independent, 2007) [Online] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/reforms-give-rape-victims-right-to-give-video-evidence-760831.html accessed 17th February 2012. The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. A Keane, The Modern Law of Evidence (7th edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008). M Burton, R Evans and A Sanders, Are special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses working? Evidence from the criminal justice agencies (London, Home Office Online Report, 2006) [Online] https://library.npia.police.uk/docs/hordsolr/rdsolr0106.pdf accessed 19th Feb 2012. Regina v. Camberwell Green Youth Court and others [2003] EWHC 227. N Cross, Criminal Law Criminal Justice: An Introduction (London, Sage Publishing, 2009). CPS, CPS Policy for Prosecuting Cases of Rape (London, HMSO, 2009) [Online] https://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/rape.html#_07 accessed 18th February 2012. M Childs and L Ellison, Feminist Perspectives on Evidence (London, Psychology Press, 2000). M Fabri and F Contini, Justice and technology in Europe: how ICT is changing the judicial business (The Netherlands, Kluwer Law International, 2001). M Burton, R Evans and A Sanders, Are special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses working? Evidence from the criminal justice agencies (London, Home Office Online Report, 2006) [Online] https://library.npia.police.uk/docs/hordsolr/rdsolr0106.pdf accessed 19th Feb 2012. L J Clements and J Read, Disabled people and European human rights: a review of the implications of the 1998 Human Rights Act for disabled children and adults in the UK (London, The Policy Press, 2003). J Young, Human rights are childrens rights: a guide to ensuring children and young peoples rights are respected (London, NCB Publishing, 2008). Cambridge University and Clifford Chance, The Human Rights Act and the criminal justice and regulatory process (London, Hart Publishing, 1999). Dombo Beheer B.V. v the Netherlands (37/1992/382/46) Application 5362/72 X v Austria 42 CD 145 (1972) McMichael v United Kingdom (1995) 20 EHRR 205. R v Xhabri [2005] EWCA Crim 3135. L Wolhuter, N Olley and D Denham, Victimology: victimisation and victims rights (London, Taylor and Francis, 2008). N Taylor and J Joudo, The impact of pre-recorded video and closed circuit television testimony by adult sexual assault complainants on jury decision-making: an experimental study (Australia, Australian Institute of Criminology, 2005). R v Camberwell Green Youth Court and others [2003] EWHC 227. Research Trail: An internet search using the search term ‘protecting victims of rape led this author to the Office for Criminal Justice Reforms 2006 Consultation Paper entitled, ‘Convicting Rapists and Protecting Victims – Justice for Victims of Rape. One of the special measures highlighted for discussion by this report was the use of pre-recorded video statements and video cross-examination and, interested in how these measures interfaced with defendants rights under Article 6(3) of the Human Rights Act 1998, this author selected the evaluation of these special measures as the subject matter for this research project. This source made it clear that historically rates of reporting of sexual offences have been low and that victim fears and perceptions of the prosecution process were in some way responsible. This source also conjectured that it was this lack of timely reporting that made it so hard to secure convictions for these types of offence. Keen to find out more about th e nature of these barriers, this author undertook a library search using the search terms ‘under+reporting+of+sexual+offences led this author to the following sources which provided very useful insights into these barriers: J Gregory and S Lees, Policing Sexual Assault (London, Routledge Publishing, 1999). R McElvaney, Delays in Reporting Childhood Sexual Abuse and Implications for Legal Proceedings. In D P Farrington, C R Hollin and M McMurran (eds.), Sex and violence: the psychology of crime and risk assessment (London, Routledge, 2001). L L Holmstrom and A W Burgess, The victim of rape: institutional reactions (2nd edition, London Transaction Publishers, 1978). C Gibson and D M Vandiver, Juvenile sex offenders: what the public needs to know (London, ABC-CLIO, 2008). M Childs and L Ellison, Feminist Perspectives on Evidence (London, Psychology Press, 2000). The next stage of this research required this author to identify and understand the legal framework which allows vulnerable victims to enjoy these video-based special measures. The Office for Criminal Justice Reforms 2006 Consultation Paper made passing reference to the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 which this author searched for and found on the Westlaw Database. It was straightforward to identify the provision which were relevant to this research, as the provisions of this Act are well labelled. This author referred to A Keane, The Modern Law of Evidence (7th edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008) and N Cross, Criminal Law Criminal Justice: An Introduction (London, Sage Publishing, 2009) to assist with his interpretation of this legal text. To critically evaluate these special measures this author searched for sources which provided some insights (empirical or otherwise) into whether or not they were working, in practice. This search yielded the follow ing sources: N Taylor and J Joudo, The impact of pre-recorded video and closed circuit television testimony by adult sexual assault complainants on jury decision-making: an experimental study (Australia, Australian Institute of Criminology, 2005). M Burton, R Evans and A Sanders, Are special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses working? Evidence from the criminal justice agencies (London, Home Office Online Report, 2006) [Online] https://library.npia.police.uk/docs/hordsolr/rdsolr0106.pdf accessed 19th Feb 2012 M Fabri and F Contini, Justice and technology in Europe: how ICT is changing the judicial business (The Netherlands, Kluwer Law International, 2001). Regina v Camberwell Green Youth Court and others [2003] EWHC 227. Next, this author undertook a search to find sources relevant to Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. The sources consulted here included: The Human Rights Act 1998. Genevieve Muinzer, New to the UK: a guide to your life and rights (London, Routledge, 1987). L J Clements and J Read, Disabled people and European human rights: a review of the implications of the 1998 Human Rights Act for disabled children and adults in the UK (London, The Policy Press, 2003). J Young, Human rights are childrens rights: a guide to ensuring children and young peoples rights are respected (London, NCB Publishing, 2008). Cambridge University and Clifford Chance, The Human Rights Act and the criminal justice and regulatory process (London, Hart Publishing, 1999). Dombo Beheer B.V. v the Netherlands (37/1992/382/46) Application 5362/72 X v Austria 42 CD 145 (1972) McMichael v United Kingdom (1995) 20 EHRR 205. R v Xhabri [2005] EWCA Crim 3135. L Wolhuter, N Olley and D Denham, Victimology: victimisation and victims rights (London, Taylor and Francis, 2008).