Exam Ready Notes for CORE Module 'Dispute Resolution'!
Civil Litigation Notes for Workshops 10 and 11 of the Dispute Resolution Module on the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at the University of Law.
These notes were used for the March 2023 exams, where I achieved a Distinction!
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Evidence
2 broad types:
1) Factual evidence from a witness
2) Expert evidence from a suitably qualified expert
Witness evidence
r32.4(1): A witness statement is a signed statement of the evidence the witness would be allowed to give orally if
called to do so.
The court can control which evidence is admissible, on which issues, how it is presented before the court and to what
extent it may be cross-examined by giving specific directions, limited in cross examination etc. r32.1
Any fact which needs to be proved is to be proved at trial by way of oral evidence in writing (and at any other hearing in
writing) r32.1(1)
Witnesses can give evidence by any means (video link is common) r32.1
Stage 1 – what evidence is admissible?
Stage 2 – how should it be formatted?
STAGE 1: What evidence is admissible?
Relevant Only relevant evidence is admissible: O’Brian v CC South Wales Police
Not Generally, opinion evidence will be inadmissible.
opinion o This is because the function of a witness is to relay facts; it is then for the court to draw its own conclusions
from these facts. So, statements such as, “he was an idiot” would be inadmissible. It is for the court to draw
that conclusion.
Exceptions:
o s3(2) of the Civil Evidence Act 1972 makes clear that it is admissible to give evidence which amounts to a
‘personal perception of facts’
E.g. speed; if the witness states the vehicle was driving at “about 60 mph”, this is only an opinion,
but it is a perception of a fact and so may be admissible.
o s3(1) of the Civil Evidence Act 1972 provides that a witnesses’ opinion “on any relevant matter on which he is
qualified to give expert evidence shall be admissible in evidence”. Therefore, expert witnesses CAN give
opinions – when called as a witness, not hearsay
o In professional negligence claims, a defendant is allowed to give his own expert opinion on what he did or
did not do which is said to amount to negligence in his witness statement.
Hearsay evidence
Oral or written statement made outside the courtroom repeated to the court in order to prove the truth of the matter stated in court
“Hearsay”: s1(2)(a) of the Civil Evidence Act 1995
Step 1: o A statement (oral or written – any representation of fact or opinion) made other than by a person while
Define giving oral evidence in the proceedings (made outside the court room) which is tendered as evidence of the
hearsay matters stated (presented to court to show that it is true, not just that it was made)
and
statement Hearsay is a therefore statement made:
Outside of the court,
Which is repeated to the court
In order to prove the truth of the matter stated out of court
E.g. Louise arrives later home to find her house burgled. A passer-by she doesn’t know tells her ‘I saw three boys in
their late teens running down the street five minutes ago. They were yobs. One of them was carrying a TV’ The
statement was made by a third party outside court and is repeated in court by Louise to prove the truth of it (that
boys were running away from scene, not that the passer-by told her so).
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