The court may refuse to re-interrogate juvenile victims to ensure the best interests of the child - The Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court

National legislation and international legal instruments, in particular the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (ratified with reservations by Law of Ukraine No. 4988-VI of 20 June 2012), stipulate that during the investigation and consideration of criminal proceedings all possible measures should be taken to ensure the best interests of the child and to prevent aggravation of the trauma already suffered as a result of sexual abuse.

The Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court drew attention to this fact while reviewing the cassation appeal of the defence. The verdict of the local court, upheld by the court of appeal, found the individual guilty and convicted him of corruption of minors (part 2 of Article 156 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The cassation appeal stated, among other things, that the local court had unreasonably and prejudicially refused to re-interrogate the minor victims.

The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the court of appeal, which reasonably agreed with the decision of the local court to dismiss the defence's motion. The decision was made based on the recommendation of psychiatric experts not to re-interrogate juvenile victims unless absolutely necessary due to their age and psycho-emotional state after the events described.

The Resolution of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court of 7 March 2024 in case no. 719/131/22 (proceedings no. 51-4742km23) - https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/117721147 (the decision is prohibited for publication under paragraph 4 of part 1 of Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine "On Access to Court Decisions").

This and other legal positions of the Supreme Court can be found in the Database of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court - https://lpd.court.gov.ua.