UNITED KINGDOM
Family Law
Natasha Phillips
The nation’s Independent Panel Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse is undergoing a radical transformation, but will it be enough to gain trust it so desperately needs amongst the public and survivors? It could be, but the new Inquiry must heed the lessons of current investigations around the world.
The Statutory Inquiry Into Child Abuse, as it is now known, has been given a powerful makeover. Its Head, New Zealand judge Justice Lowell Goddard looks to be savvy and meticulous, and its newly bestowed statutory status will give this body a brand new set of teeth, which one hopes will bite when necessary, through the compelling of witnesses to give evidence and the production of documents to help move the inquiry along.
A new panel though, has yet to be announced. Section 4 of the Inquiries Act 2005 tells us that each member has to be appointed by a Minister, in this case Home Secretary Theresa May, and that each prospective panel member must be consulted before an appointment can be made. Section 8 of the Act also tells us that whoever is appointed must have the necessary level of expertise, but is this criterion sufficiently robust?
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