The significance of the age in the testimonies of underage witnesses

Abstract

Due to disciplinary boundaries, judges and law enforcement agents may often find it difficult to properly assess testimonies or to formulate meaningful questions for expert witnesses, especially for psychologists. In these cases one needs more then common sense, logical thinking, or even the utilization of psychological methods. The understanding of certain psychological functions like perception, remembrance, concentration, imagination and personality structure of the individual may provide valuable information for investigating authorities and courts. Exploring these issues, the author focuses on the interrogation of underage witnesses.