NCJ Number
84738
Date Published
1981
Length
101 pages
Annotation
This volume presents the proceedings of a 1981 seminar held in Sydney, Australia, to discuss the reform of laws and rules regarding the admissibility of criminal evidence.
Abstract
A justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Australia) discussed the law of evidence in New South Wales, with emphasis on ways in which the rule of evidence can hinder the fact-finding process and confuse the lay persons who serve on juries in criminal cases. A member of the Australian Law Reform Commission examined arguments favoring major changes in the rules of evidence in criminal trials, with emphasis on the positions of the Commission and of the Criminal Law Revision Committee in England. The Commission concluded that the traditional view of the criminal trial should not be modified to change the balance between the rights of the State and the rights of the accused. The problem of assuring a fair trial for persons with prior criminal records was examined, with emphasis on three recent decisions of the Victorian Court of Criminal Appeal (Australia) and these decisions' effects on rules of evidence. The accusatorial system found in common law countries is compared with the inquistorial system found in civil law countries such as Italy, with emphasis on the fact-finding process and the law of evidence. Reference notes are provided for one paper. Tables and discussions of the papers are also included.