Procedure of the Children's Court

Section 32 of the Goa Children's Act, 2003 deals with procedure of the Children's Court. The Children's Court shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed: Provided that the procedure so prescribed shall be child friendly and shall be deemed to include the following .- [(a) [omitted] (b) [Omitted] (c) [Omitted]] Indsat (c) Avoidance of harm: At all stages, from the initial contact t

(1) The Children's Court shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed:

Provided that the procedure so prescribed shall be child friendly and shall be deemed to include the following .- 124[(a) [omitted] (b) [Omitted] (c) [Omitted]] Indsat (c) Avoidance of harm: At all stages, from the initial contact till disposition, extreme care shall be taken to avoid any harm to the sensitivity of the child.

(d) Principle of Best interest: This principle seeks to ensure physical, emotional, intellectual, social and moral development of the child, so as to make him a useful and good citizen by ameliorating the impediments to healthy development.

(e) Principle of non-stigmatizing semantics, decisions and actions. Non-stigmatizing semantics must be strictly adhered to, and the use of adversarial or accusatory words, such as, arrest, remand, accused, charge sheet, trial, prosecution, warrant, summons, conviction, inmate, delinquent, neglected, custody, etc., is prohibited in the processes pertaining to the child under this Act.

(f) Principles of non-waiver of rights: No waiver of rights of the child, whether by himself or the competent authority or anyone acting or claiming to act on behalf of the child is either permissible or valid. Non-exercise of a fundamental right does not amount to waiver.

(h) Principle of equality .- Equality of access, equality of opportunity, equality under the said Act, is guaranteed to the child; and as such there shall be no discrimination on the basis of age, sex, place of birth, disability, race, ethnicity, status, caste, cultural practices, work, activity or behaviour of the child or that of his parents or guardians, or the civil and political status of the child.

(i) Principle of right to privacy and confidentiality: The child's rights to privacy and confidentiality shall be protected by all means and through all stages of the proceedings.

(j) Principle of Fresh Start: The principle of fresh start promotes new beginning for the child by ensuring erasure of his past records.

(k) Principle of last resort: Institutionalization of a child will be the last resort after reasonable enquiry and that too for the minimum possible duration.

(l) Burden of Proof: Whenever any offence is alleged to have been committed against a child, the burden of proving that such offence has not been committed by the accused 125[shall lie on the accused if the child was in his custody at the time of his arrest or at the time of committal of offence or at the time of rescue or removal of the child victim, as the case may be.] (m) Procedure for Children's evidence: Whenever a child 126[who is a victim of a crime or a witness to a crime ] is required to depose before any authority including this Court, the child shall not be exposed to the presence of the accused or the 127[perpetrators of the crime but the Advocate for the accused shall be allowed to be present.] (n) Cross examination of child witness: Whenever there is a need to cross examine a child witness, care shall be taken to see that the tender age or in case of a victim, the psychological condition of the child is taken into consideration and the Children's Court may adopt such procedures which are fair and suitable to the child.

(o) Deposit of fine prior to trial: Whenever the offence alleged involves a fine, in order to ensure the attendance of the accused during the proceeding and compliance of the Court's directives and others thereafter, the Court may direct the accused 128[to deposit, in cash, any amount as deemed fit by the Children's Court and his or her passport] at the beginning of the trial itself.

(2) In all dealings with children, the Children's Court shall follow the following guidelines: child victims winesses are infor Courts (a) Child victims/witnesses are informed of their role in regard to court proceedings;

(b) Their views are allowed to be heard and respected;

(c) Inconvenience to them is minimized and their privacy is respected;

(d) Delays in the proceedings are reduced;

(e) Aggressive questioning or cross examination of child victims is avoided and the same, if necessary, is done through the judge;

(f) Provisions are made for trials in camera;

(g) The identity of the child victim is protected;

(h) Child victims are prepared for the judicial process and prosecution of alleged abusers is not rushed if a child is not ready to go to court;

(i) The investigator ascertains the need for medical examination of the child victim and when examination is undertaken, ensures that multiple re-examination is avoided;

(j) The medical examination should be conducted in the presence of the parent/guardian and social worker/counsel or as far as possible;

(k) Child's 129[testimony or statement] should be recorded in the presence of a social worker/counsellor as early as possible after the abusive incident with other witnesses at hand;

(l) Adequate translation/interpretations and translators/interpreters who are sensitive to the children's needs should be provided wherever needed.

(m) In case of a mentally challenged child, the competent service provider should depose on behalf of the child;

(n) The special needs of the child victims/witnesses should be catered for. These should include the following :- (i) Enable children to familiarise themselves with the court surroundings;

(ii) Inform children of the different roles of the key persons at court, such as the judge, the defence lawyer and the prosecutor;

(iii) Inform the court of the special needs of children in general and of individual children in specific cases;

(iv) Help children to be comfortable in the proceedings;

(v) Encourage questionings to be short and clear so as not confuse child witnesses;

(vi) Permit children below eight years of age to respond to leading questions facilitated by a social worker.

Section 32, The Goa Children's Act, 2003 (Act 18 of 2003).