The Subtleties and Complexities of the Evidence Acts, and the Role of Intermediate Courts of Appeal

Australian Bar Review, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 13-26, 2015

Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 16/16

14 Pages Posted: 19 Feb 2016 Last revised: 25 Nov 2020

See all articles by Mark Leeming

Mark Leeming

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law

Date Written: 2015

Abstract

Recent empirical work confirms one’s impression that much of the present work of intermediate courts of appeal, especially courts of criminal appeal, continues to involve the working out of the Evidence Acts first introduced by Commonwealth and New South Wales statutes twenty years ago. This article identifies reasons for that phenomenon. Its essential contention is that the legislation is much more subtle and complex than is often appreciated. In significant respects the legislation is not uniform. Nor is it a code. It applies in different ways to different Australian courts. But the main source of subtlety and complexity is the relationship with other statutes and with the existing body of judge-made law.

Keywords: Evidence, codification, uniform evidence acts, comity, appellate courts, relationship between statute and common law, Longman discretion, general fairness discretion

JEL Classification: K10, K30, K40

Suggested Citation

Leeming, Mark, The Subtleties and Complexities of the Evidence Acts, and the Role of Intermediate Courts of Appeal (2015). Australian Bar Review, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 13-26, 2015, Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 16/16, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2733899

Mark Leeming (Contact Author)

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

New Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

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