{"id":223,"date":"2025-12-05T07:08:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T07:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gov.fk\/courts\/?page_id=223"},"modified":"2025-12-17T07:36:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T07:36:14","slug":"coming-to-court","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gov.fk\/courts\/further-information\/coming-to-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Coming to Court"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Home<\/a><\/span> \u00bb Further Information<\/a><\/span> \u00bb Coming to Court<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Coming to a court or tribunal to give evidence as a victim or witness<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of this page is to provide an overview of the facilities and support available to you
from the Courts and Tribunals Service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Before the hearing:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In criminal cases:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you are a victim of crime or a witness for the prosecution, the police will tell you when you have to go to court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a witness for the defence, the defence lawyer or defendant will tell you when you have to go to court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other cases:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The person on whose behalf you are giving evidence, their lawyer, or the court\/tribunal will tell you when you have to go to court\/tribunal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the hearing, the Courts and Tribunal Service may be able to provide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witness service<\/strong> \u2014 The witness service is able to provide support to you before and during the hearing. Somebody from the witness service can accompany you to court if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-court visit<\/strong> \u2014 To show you around the court so you know what to expect on the day, explain the court process and who\u2019s who in the courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Test call <\/strong>\u2014 If you are giving evidence by a video link from a place other than the court building, we will ask you to take part in a test call. This is to make sure you can connect with the court equipment and understand the procedure when giving evidence in this way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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On the day of the hearing:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We know that coming to a court or tribunal can feel overwhelming or frightening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In criminal cases:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you are a victim of crime or a witness for the prosecution, you should let the police know about your needs prior to the trial date, so there is time to make any arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a witness for the defence, you should let the defence lawyer or the defendant know about your needs, so there is time to make any arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other cases:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Please inform the person on whose behalf you are giving evidence, their lawyer, or the court\/tribunal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving<\/strong> \u2014 We can look at arranging a specific time and entrance for your arrival, as well as a seat in a different part of the building from others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adjustments<\/strong> \u2014 If you have a disability, need specific assistance or have specific needs, we can explore what we can do to support this: e.g. if you need to take medication at a particular time, have a hearing or visual impairment, or need documents in large-print format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translator<\/strong> \u2014 If you do not understand or do not speak English we can get someone to translate or interpret. Even if you do speak good conversational English, an interpreter may help you fully understand the process and any technical language<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witness service<\/strong> \u2014 The witness service is able to provide support to you during the hearing, and wait with you before you give your evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support<\/strong> \u2014 We can reserve a seat in the public gallery for someone else to attend to support you, such as a friend or family member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special measures<\/strong> \u2014 We may be able to take extra steps to protect you in certain circumstances (including but not limited to victims of sexual offences). These steps are called \u2018special measures\u2019 and include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n