Effective participation of vulnerable accused persons: case management, court adaptation and rethinking criminal responsibility

This article explores recent international developments in judicial case management for vulnerable accused persons in adversarial trials. The authors discuss the definition of “vulnerable” and include examples of adaptations to the traditional adversarial process and appellate decisions. The authors emphasise the importance of specialist legal representation.
They conclude that not only is it necessary for there to be bespoke, procedural adjustments in appropriate cases but also for there to be a fundamental review of laws which may be inappropriately criminalising certain vulnerable accused persons.