Hearsay Evidence in Criminal Proceedings [Paperback]

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 re-wrote the hearsay evidence rule for the purpose of criminal proceedings, enacting the recommendations of the Law Commission together with some proposals from the Auld Review. In 2008, Professor Spencer wrote a book explaining the new law, intended for practitioners as well as academics. Following the style of his earlier book about the new law on bad character evidence, the core of the hearsay book was a section-by-section commentary on the relevant provisions of the Act, discussing the case law that had interpreted them. Since the appearance of the first edition, the new law on hearsay evidence has been the subject of a spectacular exchange between the UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights, the effects of which the Court of Appeal has interpreted in several leading cases. In this new edition, the commentary is revised to take account of these developments. As in the first edition, the commentary is preceded by chapters on the history of the hearsay rule, and the requirements of Article 6(3)(d) of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is followed by an appendix containing the text of the statutory provisions and a selection of the leading cases.This book provides a section-by-section commentary on the relevant provisions of the Act, discussing the case-law that had interpreted them. The commentary has been revised in light of the new developments arising from several new leading cases.JR Spencer KC is Professor of Law in the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge.

1 Introduction
Hearsay rule and the rise and fall of the exclusionary rules of evidence
Scope and evolution of the hearsay rule
Hearsay rule in criminal law as it stood before the 2003 reform: Justifications for the rule
Criticisms of the hearsay rule
Hearsay rule as seen by legal writers
The 'directness principle' or 'best evidence' approach
Abolition of the hearsay rule in civil proceedings
Backglƒb