Analysis of s114 (1) Criminal Justice Act 2003
S114(1) Criminal Justice Act 2003 stated that, hearsay in criminal proceeding is in " Criminal proceeding statement not made in oral evidence in proceeding is admissible as evidence of any matter stated if, but only if ....... " What is " statement" Based on statutory provision of s115(2) Criminal Justice Act 2003, statement is a representation of fact or opinion made by a person in whatever means which may include photofit, sketch or other pictorial form. Based on common law rule of the case of Chandrasekera v R , in this case, the victim of the attack was unable to talk due to the injury sustained and therefore uses a sign to indicate the responsible defendant. The privy council later held that the rule against hearsay is still applicable in this case.
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Admissibility of the Hearsay Evidence
Based on section 114(1) Criminal Justice Act 2003 , hearsay in criminal proceeding is in " criminal proceeding, a statement made not in oral evidence in proceeding admissible as evidence of any matter stated if, but only if ......." a) statutory provisions which make it admissible as dictated in s116 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. b) any common law rule which is preserved by s118 Criminal Justice Act 2003 c) hearsay is admissible based on the agreement of the prosecution, accused and co accused. d) due to the safety valve exception where the court is satisfied to admit hearsay evidence for the interest of justice. The Rationale of the Rule Against Hearsay
Hearsay is not considered the best evidence. This is baed on the fact that the statement is not given under oath. In this case the demeanour of the witness could not be identified. The person who make the statement cannot be cross examined. Comparison between Hearsay and Direct evidence
Direct evidence is the evidence from the witness who perceived the relevant act himself. For instance, X was charged with theft of book from the bookstores. Y told Z that he saw X stealing the book. The prosecution cannot called Z to testify that Y told him that he saw X stealing the book. The correct approach is for the prosecution to call Y to give direct evidence of what he saw and believed. Rule Against Hearsay
Any fact asserted other than the one made by the person while giving oral evidence in proceeding appears to be inadmissible as any evidence of the assertion of the fact. What is Hearsay ?
The definition of hearsay is based on section 114(1) Criminal Justice Act 2003 which states that hearsay in criminal proceeding is the statement not made in oral evidence in proceedings that is evidence of any matter stated |
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