Court reporters interviewing child

[BanquoGhost]

Hi

At what age can a court reporter (I'm in Scotland) interview a child on his own for a residency order between his parents. The reason I'm asking is my brother is involved with a custody battle with his (violent) ex-partner. The child is 3 yo and the reporter interviewed him on his own with his father out of the room. The reporter has ruled in the mother's favour. Surely a 3 yo cannot be able to make a informed decisions but is 'led' by the reporter.

Thanks

BQ

I'm sure no decisions would have been made purely on the basis of a 3 year old's comment.

The recorder is probably just asking the child what their understanding is of the situation and giving reassurance to the child.

A reporter is usually a solicitor or social worker who has received specialist training to work with children. The framework for interviews are flexible and tailored according to the individual child and situation.

Children of three are too young to make decisions themselves. Young children are usually asked to draw pictures of their family and encouraged to talk about the pictures so the reporter can report a child's perceptions to the court. |Without more details it's difficult to comment but it isn't possible to challenge bits of a report that document what was drawn/said.

When there is violence it is the effects the the violence has on the children that is important. Evidence in the form of professional reports from police, social workers, nursery staff etc carry considerable weight. However, as long as a child is surviving satisfactorily and not found at risk of harm it's unlikely a disruption their sense of security and established bonds will be seen as being in the child's interest.