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Purpose: Individuals with communication disabilities often face barriers when engaging with justice systems. Such barriers pose a material risk to the individual in relation to their right of equal access to justice. These barriers also pose a risk to the relevant State in potentially breaching Sustainable Development Goal 16 peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16). To mitigate these risks, many adversarial criminal justice systems have identified the need for accommodations to facilitate the participation of individuals with communication disabilities., Result: At the forefront of this movement has been the introduction of intermediaries. By facilitating effective communication between vulnerable persons and stakeholders within the legal system, intermediaries play a pivotal role in ensuring active participation in legal processes. They can also improve the forensic accuracy of the fact-finding inquiry. In this article, we outline case examples of intermediary schemes across three common law countries. As various terms are used to describe the intermediary role including communication assistants and registered intermediaries, the term intermediary will be used throughout., Conclusion: Although the scope of the role of intermediaries varies across settings in line with policy and legislative frameworks, we draw on shared learning across these countries to guide others in designing an intermediary scheme. We highlight the importance of knowledge sharing across contexts to realise equal access to justice for all (SDG 16).

Recent research has highlighted that a high prevalence of young adults who have various forms of neurodivergence come into contact with the criminal justice system. Currently, many courts are not designed to respond to neurological differences often seen in young people who engage with them. The aim of this study was to identify ways to make locality courts more accessible, engaging, and ultimately more responsive to neurodivergence. A panel of neurodivergence specialists reviewed the general district courtroom environment of a new specialised young adult list court in Aotearoa New Zealand to identify potential barriers to accessibility and to highlight areas for improvement. The methodology involved naturalistic observation of a typical morning in the courtroom. We identified a series of recommendations with the potential to improve the court experience and increase access to justice for neurodivergent young adults. This study identified specific need for neurodiversity education and screening within the court environment., (© 2022 The Authors. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Because of the political and professional expectation that nurses engage in independent lifelong learning, nurses have to be able to teach themselves. Furthermore, their learning needs to be at the correct educational level. A culture of curiosity is therefore a key requirement of modern nursing. This article analyses a theory that cyclically links curiosity to competency and argues that curiosity thrives in an environment that maximizes competency. The nature and dimensions of competency are discussed. The article examines the importance of competence in nursing practice. It discusses what the principles of best practice are in relation to using competency to maximise curiosity in the clinical learning environment.

The professional status of nursing requires that nurses have access to and can understand a knowledge base at the correct academic level. Over the last 15 years there has been an explosion in the amount of best practice evidence available to nurses. There has also been an increasing emphasis on independent life-long learning and an expectation that nurses should be able to teach themselves. This article argues that a culture of curiosity is a key requirement of these demands. It examines the origins and nature of curiosity and proposes teaching techniques that can be used in higher education institutions and in clinical practice to promote a culture of curiosity in nursing.