ABSTRACT
All material which is produced at court is subject to regulation by the laws of evidence. Decisions on the application of these rules are taken by the trial judge, and will often be concerned with whether or not the evidence should be admitted. The law of evidence is adjectival rather than substantive law. The substantive law is the criminal law – murder, manslaughter, theft, burglary, rape, violence to the person and other crimes – that defines the conduct and mental element that is required for the particular crime. The law of criminal evidence is the law that governs how these criminal offences are to be proved in court.
