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95 Rules of court | |
(1) Rules of court may make such provision as appears to the appropriate | |
authority to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act; and the | |
appropriate authority is the authority entitled to make the rules. | |
(2) The rules may require a defendant who— | 5 |
(a) proposes to adduce evidence of a co-defendant’s bad character under | |
section 84(1)(f), or | |
(b) proposes to cross-examine a witness with a view to eliciting such | |
evidence, | |
to serve on the co-defendant such notice, and such particulars of or relating to | 10 |
the evidence, as may be prescribed. | |
(3) The rules may provide that the court or the co-defendant may, in such | |
circumstances as may be prescribed, dispense with a requirement imposed by | |
virtue of subsection (2). | |
(4) In considering the exercise of its powers with respect to costs, the court may | 15 |
take into account any failure by a defendant to comply with a requirement | |
imposed by virtue of subsection (2) and not dispensed with by virtue of | |
subsection (3). | |
(5) The rules may— | |
(a) limit the application of any provision of the rules to prescribed | 20 |
circumstances; | |
(b) subject any provision of the rules to prescribed exceptions; | |
(c) make different provision for different cases or circumstances. | |
(6) Nothing in this section prejudices the generality of any enactment conferring | |
power to make rules of court; and no particular provision of this section | 25 |
prejudices any general provision of it. | |
(7) In this section— | |
“prescribed” means prescribed by rules of court; | |
“rules of court” means— | |
(a) Crown Court Rules; | 30 |
(b) Criminal Appeal Rules; | |
(c) rules under section 144 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 | |
(c. 43). | |
96 Interpretation of Chapter 1 | |
(1) In this Chapter— | 35 |
“bad character” is to be read in accordance with section 81; | |
“criminal proceedings” means criminal proceedings in relation to which | |
the strict rules of evidence apply; | |
“defendant”, in relation to criminal proceedings, means a person charged | |
with an offence in those proceedings; and “co-defendant”, in relation to | 40 |
a defendant, means a person charged with an offence in the same | |
proceedings; | |
“important matter” means a matter of substantial importance in the | |
context of the case as a whole; | |
“misconduct” means— | 45 |
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(a) the commission of an offence, or | |
(b) behaviour of a kind that, in the opinion of the court, might be | |
viewed with disapproval by a reasonable person; | |
“probative value”, and “relevant” (in relation to an item of evidence), are | |
to be read in accordance with section 93; | 5 |
“prosecution evidence” means evidence which is to be (or has been) | |
adduced by the prosecution, or which a witness is to be invited to give | |
(or has given) in cross-examination by the prosecution. | |
(2) Where a defendant is charged with two or more offences in the same criminal | |
proceedings, this Chapter has effect as if each offence were charged in separate | 10 |
proceedings; and references to the offence with which the defendant is charged | |
are to be read accordingly. | |
97 Armed forces | |
Schedule 5 (armed forces) has effect. | |
Chapter 2 | 15 |
Hearsay evidence | |
Hearsay: main provisions | |
98 Admissibility of hearsay evidence | |
(1) In criminal proceedings a statement not made in oral evidence in the | |
proceedings is admissible as evidence of any matter stated if, but only if— | 20 |
(a) any provision of this Chapter or any other statutory provision makes it | |
admissible, | |
(b) any rule of law preserved by section 102 makes it admissible, | |
(c) all parties to the proceedings agree to it being admissible, or | |
(d) the court is satisfied that, despite the difficulties there may be in | 25 |
challenging the statement, it would not be contrary to the interests of | |
justice for it to be admissible. | |
(2) In deciding whether a statement not made in oral evidence should be admitted | |
under subsection (1)(d), the court must have regard to the following factors | |
(and to any others it considers relevant)— | 30 |
(a) how much probative value the statement has (assuming it to be true) in | |
relation to a matter in issue in the proceedings, or how valuable it is for | |
the understanding of other evidence in the case; | |
(b) what other evidence has been, or can be, given on the matter or | |
evidence mentioned in paragraph (a); | 35 |
(c) how important the matter or evidence mentioned in paragraph (a) is in | |
the context of the case as a whole; | |
(d) the circumstances in which the statement was made; | |
(e) how reliable the maker of the statement appears to be; | |
(f) how reliable the evidence of the making of the statement appears to be; | 40 |
(g) whether oral evidence of the matter stated can be given and, if not, why | |
it cannot; | |
(h) the amount of difficulty involved in challenging the statement; | |
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(i) the extent to which that difficulty would be likely to prejudice the party | |
facing it. | |
(3) Nothing in this Chapter affects the exclusion of evidence of a statement on | |
grounds other than the fact that it is a statement not made in oral evidence in | |
the proceedings. | 5 |
99 Statements and matters stated | |
(1) In this Chapter references to a statement or to a matter stated are to be read as | |
follows. | |
(2) A statement is any representation of fact or opinion made by a person by | |
whatever means; and it includes a representation made in a sketch, photofit or | 10 |
other pictorial form. | |
(3) A matter stated is one to which this Chapter applies if (and only if) the purpose, | |
or one of the purposes, of the person making the statement appears to the court | |
to have been— | |
(a) to cause another person to believe the matter, or | 15 |
(b) to cause another person to act or a machine to operate on the basis that | |
the matter is as stated. | |
Principal categories of admissibility | |
100 Cases where a witness is unavailable | |
(1) In criminal proceedings a statement not made in oral evidence in the | 20 |
proceedings is admissible as evidence of any matter stated if— | |
(a) oral evidence given in the proceedings by the person who made the | |
statement would be admissible as evidence of that matter, | |
(b) the person who made the statement (the relevant person) is identified | |
to the court’s satisfaction, and | 25 |
(c) any of the five conditions mentioned in subsection (2) is satisfied. | |
(2) The conditions are— | |
(a) that the relevant person is dead; | |
(b) that the relevant person is unfit to be a witness because of his bodily or | |
mental condition; | 30 |
(c) that the relevant person is outside the United Kingdom and it is not | |
reasonably practicable to secure his attendance; | |
(d) that the relevant person cannot be found although such steps as it is | |
reasonably practicable to take to find him have been taken; | |
(e) that through fear the relevant person does not give (or does not | 35 |
continue to give) oral evidence in the proceedings, either at all or in | |
connection with the subject matter of the statement, and the court gives | |
leave for the statement to be given in evidence. | |
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(e) “fear” is to be widely construed and (for | |
example) includes fear of the death or injury of another person or of financial | 40 |
loss. | |
(4) Leave may be given under subsection (2)(e) only if the court considers that the | |
statement ought to be admitted in the interests of justice, having regard— | |
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(a) to the statement’s contents, | |
(b) to any risk that its admission or exclusion will result in unfairness to | |
any party to the proceedings (and in particular to how difficult it will | |
be to challenge the statement if the relevant person does not give oral | |
evidence), | 5 |
(c) in appropriate cases, to the fact that a direction under section 19 of the | |
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (c. 23) (special measures | |
for the giving of evidence by fearful witnesses etc) could be made in | |
relation to the relevant person, and | |
(d) to any other relevant circumstances. | 10 |
(5) A condition set out in any paragraph of subsection (2) which is in fact satisfied | |
is to be treated as not satisfied if it is shown that the circumstances described | |
in that paragraph are caused— | |
(a) by the person in support of whose case it is sought to give the statement | |
in evidence, or | 15 |
(b) by a person acting on his behalf, | |
in order to prevent the relevant person giving oral evidence in the proceedings | |
(whether at all or in connection with the subject matter of the statement). | |
101 Business and other documents | |
(1) In criminal proceedings a statement contained in a document is admissible as | 20 |
evidence of any matter stated if— | |
(a) oral evidence given in the proceedings would be admissible as | |
evidence of that matter, | |
(b) the requirements of subsection (2) are satisfied, and | |
(c) the requirements of subsection (5) are satisfied, in a case where | 25 |
subsection (4) requires them to be. | |
(2) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied if— | |
(a) the document or the part containing the statement was created or | |
received by a person in the course of a trade, business, profession or | |
other occupation, or as the holder of a paid or unpaid office, | 30 |
(b) the person who supplied the information contained in the statement | |
(the relevant person) had or may reasonably be supposed to have had | |
personal knowledge of the matters dealt with, and | |
(c) each person (if any) through whom the information was supplied from | |
the relevant person to the person mentioned in paragraph (a) received | 35 |
the information in the course of a trade, business, profession or other | |
occupation, or as the holder of a paid or unpaid office. | |
(3) The persons mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) may be the | |
same person. | |
(4) The additional requirements of subsection (5) must be satisfied if the | 40 |
statement— | |
(a) was prepared for the purposes of pending or contemplated criminal | |
proceedings, or for a criminal investigation, but | |
(b) was not prepared in accordance with section 3 of the Criminal Justice | |
(International Co-operation) Act 1990 (c. 5) or an order under | 45 |
paragraph 6 of Schedule 13 to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33) | |
(which relate to overseas evidence). | |
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(5) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied if— | |
(a) any of the five conditions mentioned in section 100(2) is satisfied | |
(absence of relevant person etc), or | |
(b) the relevant person cannot reasonably be expected to have any | |
recollection of the matters dealt with in the statement (having regard to | 5 |
the length of time since he supplied the information and all other | |
circumstances). | |
(6) A statement is not admissible under this section if the court makes a direction | |
to that effect under subsection (7). | |
(7) The court may make a direction under this subsection if satisfied that the | 10 |
statement’s reliability as evidence for the purpose for which it is tendered is | |
doubtful in view of— | |
(a) its contents, | |
(b) the source of the information contained in it, | |
(c) the way in which or the circumstances in which the information was | 15 |
supplied or received, or | |
(d) the way in which or the circumstances in which the document | |
concerned was created or received. | |
102 Preservation of certain common law categories of admissibility | |
(1) The following rules of law are preserved. | 20 |
Public information etc | |
1 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings— | |
(a) published works dealing with matters of a public nature | |
(such as histories, scientific works, dictionaries and maps) are | |
admissible as evidence of facts of a public nature stated in | 25 |
them, | |
(b) public documents (such as public registers, and returns made | |
under public authority with respect to matters of public | |
interest) are admissible as evidence of facts stated in them, | |
(c) records (such as the records of certain courts, treaties, Crown | 30 |
grants, pardons and commissions) are admissible as evidence | |
of facts stated in them, or | |
(d) evidence relating to a person’s age or date or place of birth | |
may be given by a person without personal knowledge of the | |
matter. | 35 |
Reputation as to character | |
2 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings evidence of a | |
person’s reputation is admissible for the purpose of proving his | |
good or bad character. | |
Note | 40 |
The rule is preserved only so far as it allows the court to treat such | |
evidence as proving the matter concerned. | |
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Reputation or family tradition | |
3 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings evidence of | |
reputation or family tradition is admissible for the purpose of | |
proving or disproving— | |
(a) pedigree or the existence of a marriage, | 5 |
(b) the existence of any public or general right, or | |
(c) the identity of any person or thing. | |
Note | |
The rule is preserved only so far as it allows the court to treat such | |
evidence as proving or disproving the matter concerned. | 10 |
Res gestae | |
4 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings a statement is | |
admissible as evidence of any matter stated if— | |
(a) the statement was made by a person so emotionally | |
overpowered by an event that the possibility of concoction or | 15 |
distortion can be disregarded, | |
(b) the statement accompanied an act which can be properly | |
evaluated as evidence only if considered in conjunction with | |
the statement, or | |
(c) the statement relates to a physical sensation or a mental state | 20 |
(such as intention or emotion). | |
Confessions etc | |
5 Any rule of law relating to the admissibility of confessions or mixed | |
statements in criminal proceedings. | |
Admissions by agents etc | 25 |
6 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings— | |
(a) an admission made by an agent of a defendant is admissible | |
against the defendant as evidence of any matter stated, or | |
(b) a statement made by a person to whom a defendant refers a | |
person for information is admissible against the defendant as | 30 |
evidence of any matter stated. | |
Common enterprise | |
7 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings a statement | |
made by a party to a common enterprise is admissible against | |
another party to the enterprise as evidence of any matter stated. | 35 |
Expert evidence | |
8 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings an expert | |
witness may draw on the body of expertise relevant to his field. | |
(2) With the exception of the rules preserved by this section, the common law rules | |
governing the admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings are | 40 |
abolished. | |
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