GUIDELINES ON MEMORY AND THE LAW

GIUGNO 2008

Recommendations from the Scientific Study of Human Memory

These guidelines are derived from a review of the scientific study of human memory and a detailed consideration of the relevant legal issues including the role of expert evidence. The purpose of the guidelines is to provide those involved in legal work (criminal and civil) with an accessible an0d scientifically accurate basis from which to consider issues relating to memory as these arise in legal settings. The key points are summarised on the page following. The text that follows the key points overviews the relevant evidence and provides recommended reading for those who wish to follow up any of the points individually. Also provided for each section is a list of more technical references to some of the most relevant scientific studies and findings. The study of human memory has made considerable advances in recent decades and we now have a much stronger and empirically informed understanding of memory. Current theoretical thinking is at a stage that supports probabilistic but not absolute statements. The guidelines and key points should then be taken as they are intended – as guidelines and not absolute statements. Because they are based on widely agreed and acknowledged scientific findings they provide a far more rigorously informed understanding of human memory than that available from commonly held beliefs. In this respect they give courts a much firmer basis for accurate decision-making.