If you are the spouse of the accused you can only be forced to give evidence for the defence or the prosecution if: However, if the prosecution refuses to offer any evidence against you and you are found not guilty, then you can be forced to testify against a co-accused. You cannot be forced to give evidence against a co-accused if you are both being tried in the same proceedings. In this situation, the people being tried are called the "co-accused". Sometimes two or more people can be charged with a criminal offence and they are tried at the same time. Given evidence in your own defence against a co-accused (see below).Questioned the character of any prosecution witness or.Introduced evidence of your own good character or.The prosecution cannot ask you questions about your previous bad character unless you have: You cannot refuse to answer these questions. If you do decide to give evidence in your trial, then you can be cross-examined by the prosecution. If you decide not to give evidence in the case, the prosecution cannot comment on this to the jury. If you are the accused in a criminal case you cannot be forced to give evidence in your defence. There are a number of exceptions to this rule: The accused Generally, anyone who is competent to be a witness can be forced by the court to give evidence in a criminal or civil case. This provision is set out under the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 and the Children Act 1997. If a court is satisfied that a person with a mental disability can give an intelligible account of events, then the court can take evidence from the person without the oath. People with mental disabilities are dealt with in the same way as children under 14 years of age. Read more about witnesses under the age of 18. This is in order to assess the child's ability to give an intelligible account of events. If a witness is under 14 years of age the judge may ask to talk to them in private before they give evidence. Children under 14 do not have to make an oath or affirmation, but the child is guilty of an offence if they knowingly give evidence which is false or untrue. The court must be satisfied that the child is capable of giving an intelligible account of what they witnessed. The general rule in Irish law is that everyone is a competent witness. You are considered competent if you can take the oath or affirmation and give a coherent account of events. Your competence as a witness is about your ability to provide information to the court.
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