Law of Evidence (LAWS3006)

We focus on what evidence may properly be used to persuade a court of the truth of a party’s claims, the extent of a judge’s powers to exclude some forms of evidence, and the rationale for exclusion. Pervasive themes of the course are the significance of human rights for the law of evidence and the relationship between evidence doctrine and underlying theory about the aims of the law of evidence.

The module will appeal particularly to those with a keen analytical mind, and preferably with a strong interest in criminal justice since the module is largely concerned with the principles of evidence in criminal cases. That said, the module should also interest anyone who anticipates presenting cases in any type of court or tribunal in the future. Concerns about the relevance of certain pieces of evidence are much the same in both criminal and in civil evidence, as are the proper limits of cross-examination and the rules of legal professional privilege. But we focus on criminal evidence in the main because there are far more issues involved, and the impact of the fair trial guarantee in Article 6 of the ECHR is far greater.

Key information