ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the means by which evidence is adduced from witnesses. It begins by discussing the common law’s preference for oral testimony, before turning to the twin questions of competence and compellability, which between them determine whether or not a particular person will be available to testify as a witness. It also considers the evidential significance of a failure to call a person as a witness. The chapter then discusses several different classes of witness, each of which is special in the sense that special rules apply to the class which do not apply to witnesses in general. Finally, the chapter discusses the means by which witnesses are examined, setting out the rules which apply to examination-in-chief, crossexamination and re-examination.
