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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). | |
102 Business and other documents | |
(1) In criminal proceedings a statement contained in a document is admissible as | |
evidence of any matter stated if— | 5 |
(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 | |
subsection (4) requires them to be. | 10 |
(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, | |
(b) the person who supplied the information contained in the statement | 15 |
(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 | |
the information in the course of a trade, business, profession or other | 20 |
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 | |
statement— | 25 |
(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 | |
paragraph 6 of Schedule 13 to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33) | 30 |
(which relate to overseas evidence). | |
(5) The requirements of this subsection are satisfied if— | |
(a) any of the five conditions mentioned in section 101(2) is satisfied | |
(absence of relevant person etc), or | |
(b) the relevant person cannot reasonably be expected to have any | 35 |
recollection of the matters dealt with in the statement (having regard to | |
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). | 40 |
(7) The court may make a direction under this subsection if satisfied that the | |
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, | 45 |
(c) the way in which or the circumstances in which the information was | |
supplied or received, or | |
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(d) the way in which or the circumstances in which the document | |
concerned was created or received. | |
103 Preservation of certain common law categories of admissibility | |
(1) The following rules of law are preserved. | |
Public information etc | 5 |
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 | |
them, | 10 |
(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 | |
grants, pardons and commissions) are admissible as evidence | 15 |
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. | |
Reputation as to character | 20 |
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 | |
The rule is preserved only so far as it allows the court to treat such | 25 |
evidence as proving the matter concerned. | |
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— | 30 |
(a) pedigree or the existence of a marriage, | |
(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 | 35 |
evidence as proving or disproving the matter concerned. | |
Res gestae | |
4 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings a statement is | |
admissible as evidence of any matter stated if— | |
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(a) the statement was made by a person so emotionally | |
overpowered by an event that the possibility of concoction or | |
distortion can be disregarded, | |
(b) the statement accompanied an act which can be properly | |
evaluated as evidence only if considered in conjunction with | 5 |
the statement, or | |
(c) the statement relates to a physical sensation or a mental state | |
(such as intention or emotion). | |
Confessions etc | |
5 Any rule of law relating to the admissibility of confessions or mixed | 10 |
statements in criminal proceedings. | |
Admissions by agents etc | |
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 | 15 |
(b) a statement made by a person to whom a defendant refers a | |
person for information is admissible against the defendant as | |
evidence of any matter stated. | |
Common enterprise | |
7 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings a statement | 20 |
made by a party to a common enterprise is admissible against | |
another party to the enterprise as evidence of any matter stated. | |
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. | 25 |
(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 | |
abolished. | |
104 Inconsistent statements | |
(1) If in criminal proceedings a person gives oral evidence and— | 30 |
(a) he admits making a previous inconsistent statement, or | |
(b) a previous inconsistent statement made by him is proved by virtue of | |
section 3, 4 or 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1865 (c. 18), | |
the statement is admissible as evidence of any matter stated of which oral | |
evidence by him would be admissible. | 35 |
(2) If in criminal proceedings evidence of an inconsistent statement by any person | |
is given under section 109(2)(c), the statement is admissible as evidence of any | |
matter stated in it of which oral evidence by that person would be admissible. | |
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105 Other previous statements of witnesses | |
(1) This section applies where a person (the witness) is called to give evidence in | |
criminal proceedings. | |
(2) If a previous statement by the witness is admitted as evidence to rebut a | |
suggestion that his oral evidence has been fabricated, that statement is | 5 |
admissible as evidence of any matter stated of which oral evidence by the | |
witness would be admissible. | |
(3) A statement made by the witness in a document— | |
(a) which is used by him to refresh his memory while giving evidence, | |
(b) on which he is cross-examined, and | 10 |
(c) which as a consequence is received in evidence in the proceedings, | |
is admissible as evidence of any matter stated of which oral evidence by him | |
would be admissible. | |
(4) A previous statement by the witness is admissible as evidence of any matter | |
stated of which oral evidence by him would be admissible, if— | 15 |
(a) any of the following three conditions is satisfied, and | |
(b) while giving evidence the witness indicates that to the best of his belief | |
he made the statement, and that to the best of his belief it states the | |
truth. | |
(5) The first condition is that the statement identifies or describes a person, object | 20 |
or place. | |
(6) The second condition is that the statement was made by the witness when the | |
matters stated were fresh in his memory but he does not remember them, and | |
cannot reasonably be expected to remember them, well enough to give oral | |
evidence of them in the proceedings. | 25 |
(7) The third condition is that— | |
(a) the witness claims to be a person against whom an offence has been | |
committed, | |
(b) the offence is one to which the proceedings relate, | |
(c) the statement consists of a complaint made by the witness (whether to | 30 |
a person in authority or not) about conduct which would, if proved, | |
constitute the offence or part of the offence, | |
(d) the complaint was made as soon as could reasonably be expected after | |
the alleged conduct, | |
(e) the complaint was not made as a result of a threat or a promise, and | 35 |
(f) before the statement is adduced the witness gives oral evidence in | |
connection with its subject matter. | |
(8) For the purposes of subsection (7) the fact that the complaint was elicited (for | |
example, by a leading question) is irrelevant unless a threat or a promise was | |
involved. | 40 |
Supplementary | |
106 Multiple hearsay | |
(1) If there is a series of statements not made in oral evidence (such as “A said that | |
B said that C shot the deceased”) sections 99 and 101 to 105 apply as follows. | |
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(2) If a statement— | |
(a) is relied on as evidence of a matter stated in it, and | |
(b) is admissible for that purpose only under section 101 or a rule | |
preserved by section 103, | |
the fact that the statement was made must be proved by evidence admissible | 5 |
otherwise than under section 101. | |
(3) Otherwise— | |
(a) sections 99 and 101 to 105 apply to the admissibility of each statement, | |
and | |
(b) different statements may be admissible under different sections (or | 10 |
different provisions of the same section). | |
107 Documents produced as exhibits | |
(1) This section applies if on a trial before a judge and jury for an offence— | |
(a) a statement made in a document is admitted in evidence under section | |
104 or 105, and | 15 |
(b) the document or a copy of it is produced as an exhibit. | |
(2) The exhibit must not accompany the jury when they retire to consider their | |
verdict unless— | |
(a) the court considers it appropriate, or | |
(b) all the parties to the proceedings agree that it should accompany the | 20 |
jury. | |
108 Capability to make statement | |
(1) Nothing in section 101, 104 or 105 makes a statement admissible as evidence if | |
it was made by a person who did not have the required capability at the time | |
when he made the statement. | 25 |
(2) Nothing in section 102 makes a statement admissible as evidence if any person | |
who, in order for the requirements of section 102(2) to be satisfied, must at any | |
time have supplied or received the information concerned or created or | |
received the document or part concerned— | |
(a) did not have the required capability at that time, or | 30 |
(b) cannot be identified but cannot reasonably be assumed to have had the | |
required capability at that time. | |
(3) For the purposes of this section a person has the required capability if he is | |
capable of— | |
(a) understanding questions put to him about the matters stated, and | 35 |
(b) giving answers to such questions which can be understood. | |
(4) Where by reason of this section there is an issue as to whether a person had the | |
required capability when he made a statement— | |
(a) proceedings held for the determination of the issue must take place in | |
the absence of the jury (if there is one); | 40 |
(b) in determining the issue the court may receive expert evidence and | |
evidence from any person to whom the statement in question was | |
made; | |
(c) the burden of proof on the issue lies on the party seeking to adduce the | |
statement, and the standard of proof is the balance of probabilities. | 45 |
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