ABSTRACT
The general rules of evidence apply to proceedings under the Children Act 1989 subject to some modifications in important areas. These modifications arise for two reasons. First, proceedings under the Children Act are inquisitorial rather than adversarial in nature. Second, in most proceedings under the Act, the court is required to act in compliance with the ‘child welfare’ principle as defined in s 1(1). Therefore, many of the evidential rules which apply in other proceedings would be out of place in the Children Act.
