Report on Corroboration, Hearsay and Related Matters in Civil Proceedings, Scottish Law Commission,
Report 100 (1986)
Eventually, they produced their report, which led to Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988 (‘the 1988 Act’)
General approach taken in relation to civil cases in Scotland: The fairly rigid rules applicable to criminal
cases are relaxed in civil cases. The Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988 contains a number of statutory
evidential ‘relaxations’.
2. THE CIVIL EVIDENCE (SCOTLAND) ACT 1988 – KEY PROVISIONS:
(a) Section 1 – NO CORROBORATION:
‘In any civil proceedings the court or, as the case may be, the jury, if satisfied that any fact has been
established by evidence in those proceedings, shall be entitled to find that fact proved by that
evidence notwithstanding that the evidence is not corroborated’
‘Civil Proceedings’ = all civil cases brought unless covered by an exception in s 9 of the 1988 Act.
Section 9(a) – (d), includes:
- Children’s hearings: any hearing by the Sheriff… except a hearing relating to the alleged commission
by the child of an offence (s 67(2)(j) of the Children’s Hearing (S) Act 2011). Well, most of the grounds
are civil, and only that one ground is criminal - see also arbitrations, tribunals, enquiries and all
proceedings, really, unless specifically they say they are not civil proceedings. So unless specific
provision has been made for these, then they are civil proceedings.
- Arbitrations / tribunals / enquiries / proceedings unless specific provision has already been made
about the rules of evidence to apply
- Otherwise ‘civil proceedings’ = everything of a civil nature
Exceptions include:
- Children’s hearings referrals to the Sheriff for an application for a finding as to whether the grounds
of referral are established where the ground is one where there is an alleged commission by the child
of an offence in terms of the Children’s Hearing (Scotland) Act 2011
- Arbitrations / tribunals / enquiries / proceedings where specific provision has already been made
about the rules of evidence to apply
Corroboration: not required (albeit sometimes preferred) in civil cases:
McCallum v British Railways Board, 1991 SLT 5
This was a case about an accident with a railway employee and one of the problems in this case was
that conflicting evidence was was heard from two different witnesses about how the accident came
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