Law of Evidence: Give a brief summary of the evidential rule you will be examining, including its recent evolution if applicable, that can be understood by a non-legally qualified reader

Question

The House of Commons/Northern Ireland Assembly Justice Committee is holding an inquiry into the Law of Evidence. Individuals and organisations with relevant legal expertise are invited to make written or oral submissions. Your submission, which must be understandable to a non-legally qualified reader, should examine a problematic or controversial area of the Law of Evidence and contain the following sections along with a short introduction and conclusion:

1. A brief summary of the evidential rule you will be examining, including its recent evolution if applicable, that can be understood by a non-legally qualified reader
2. An outline of why this area of law has been, or might be, the subject of calls for reform
3. A more detailed discussion of the claimed shortcomings of the law, drawing the attention of the committee to academic authority, examples from case law, human rights issues, or any other relevant matters
4. A summary of any current proposals for reform, and/or an appraisal of recent reforms
5. Your recommendations on whether reform of this area of law is required, and what reforms should be made

Submission instructions: Written submissions should be no more than 2,000 words in length and must be in a format that can be read using Microsoft Word, eg .doc, .docx or .rtf. All submissions, whether written or oral, should be accompanied by a list of references to all sources cited.

Additional note to students: You are free to write your submission on any area of the law of evidence you wish, but you are advised to focus on an issue covered within themes 1 to 4, unless you have particular expertise on another topic. You may also choose between the Westminster or Northern Ireland committee – the law will generally be the same, but please ensure you refer to the legislation for the correct jurisdiction (England/Wales or Northern Ireland). The reference list and footnoted references do not count towards the word limit.

Students should consult the following documents:

• Task-specific assessment criteria (appended to assessment handbook)
• Guidance on late submissions (appended to assessment handbook)
• Guidance on plagiarism and word limits (appended to assessment
• handbook)
• Oxford System for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA referencing
• system): Quick guide