ABSTRACT

Parts I and II discussed rules that apply to all evidence adduced by all parties in all legal proceedings. Part III addresses rules that are largely applicable only to prosecution evidence.

As discussed in Chapter 1, evidence law is traditionally regarded as being a unified body of law, rather than consisting of separate rules for different types of proceedings. So the distinction we have drawn in this part is not entirely correct. More precisely, a number of the topics discussed in Part III are technically applicable in civil proceedings and to defence (and co-defence) evidence in criminal proceedings. These include:

• s 165 of the uniform evidence legislation (see Chapter 15);

• the exclusion of illegally or improperly obtained evidence (see Chapter 17);

• inferences from a party’s conduct after the disputed event (see Chapter 18); and

• s 84 of the uniform evidence legislation (see Chapter 19).