Hon Mark Burton
Minister of Justice

3 August 2007 Media Statement
Admissibility of evidence

Minister of Justice Mark Burton said today that the issue of admissibility of evidence was currently being considered following a referral by the Government to Law Commission.

The issue of disclosure of previous convictions has again been highlighted by a high profile trial in our courts.

Currently there is some limited judicial discretion in certain circumstances, however, following the issues that were raised in previous high profile cases, the Government thought it was appropriate to refer the whole question of the admissibility of this type of evidence to the Law Commission for review.

The Law Commission’s work in this area is well progressed.

ENDS

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