Section 1 states that an exception is justified where:
pre-recording all of a child's evidence would give rise to a significant risk of prejudice to the fairness of the trial, or the interests of justice more generally, and that risk significantly outweighs any risk of prejudice to the interests of the child
a child witness aged 12 or more wishes to give evidence during the trial (eg by live television link) and it would be in the child's best interests to do so
The Scottish Government seeks to justify the rule's focus on child witnesses in terms of initial prioritisation, with the policy memorandum stating that:
There will be a number of practical and operational implications for justice sector partners in the introduction of the new rule.