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View the related practice notes about Res gestae

Admissibility of hearsay in criminal proceedings—preserved common law exceptions

Preserved categories of admissibilityThe law on hearsay is set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003). See further Practice Note: Admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings.Several common law exceptions to the rule against hearsay, however, are expressly preserved by CJA 2003, s 118.The common law exceptions are•public information•reputation as to character•reputation and family tradition•res gestae•confessions•admissions by agents•common enterprise•expert evidenceNotice to introduce hearsay evidence admissible under one of the common law exceptions is not required under Part 20 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, SI 2020/759 (CrimPR).Public informationUnder CJA 2003, 'public information', is defined as:•published works dealing with matters of a public nature, eg histories, scientific works, dictionaries and maps•public documents, eg public registers•records, eg records of certain courts, treaties, Crown grants, pardons and commissions•evidence relating to a person's age or date or place of birthPublic documentsIn Sturla v Freccia, it was held that a public document is a document that is made by a public officer for the purpose of the public making use of it and...

Admissibility of hearsay in criminal proceedings—the interests of justice gateway

Admissibility of hearsay in criminal proceedings—the interests of justice gateway The statutory conditions Hearsay evidence may be admitted under one or more of the statutory gateways of admissibility contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003). See Practice Note: Admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings. One of the gateways of admissibility is 'the interests of justice' under CJA 2003, s 114(1)(d). In deciding whether or not to admit hearsay in the interests of justice, the court must have regard to the following factors: • the probative value of the statement • the other evidence in the case • how important the evidence is in the context of the case as a whole • the circumstances in which the statement was made • how reliable the maker of the statement appears to be • how reliable the evidence of the making of the statement appears to be • whether oral evidence of the matter can be given, and, if not, why not • the difficulty involved...

View the latest UK Parliament Acts documents on Res gestae

118 Preservation of certain common law categories of admissibility

(1)     The following rules of law are preserved.Public information etc1 Any rule of law under which in criminal proceedings—(a) published works dealing with matters of a public nature (such as histories, scientific works, dictionaries and maps) are admissible as evidence of facts of a public nature stated in them,(b) public documents (such as public registers, and returns made under public authority with respect to matters of public interest) are admissible as evidence of facts stated in them,