The Reliability of Expert Evidence: Reflections on the Law Commission's Proposals for Reform

2009 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 488-507
Author(s):  
Liz Heffernan ◽  
Mark Coen
Keyword(s):  
Expert Evidence ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Trial Judge ◽  
Ongoing Controversy ◽  
American Experience ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
Consultation Paper ◽  
Law Commission

The problems associated with the use of expert evidence by the criminal courts have been the subject of ongoing controversy. The Law Commission of England and Wales has recently added its voice to the debate with the publication of a Consultation Paper on the admissibility of expert evidence. This article examines the current law governing the reliability of expert evidence. It analyses the Law Commission's recommendation for the creation of a new statutory rule which would require the trial judge to assess evidentiary reliability as a matter of admissibility. The authors chart the emergence of the US Daubert test, on which the recommendation is based, and consider the lessons to be learned from American experience. While welcoming the recommendation in principle, the authors argue that the crafting and implementation of the proposed admissibility requirement would present formidable challenges.

Case Analysis: The Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Case: The Law of Treaties

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malgosia Fitzmaurice
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Unilateral Termination ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

The subject-matter of this article are the issues of treaty law as expounded in the Judgment in the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros case. The following problems are discussed: unilateral suspension and abandonment of obligations deriving from the binding treaty; the principle of fundamental change of circumstances; unilateral termination of a treaty; applicability of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties in this case; legal status of so-called ‘provisional solution’; impossibility of performance and material breach of treaty; the application of the principle of ‘approximate application’; and the principle pacta sunt servanda. The issues arc discussed at the background of the Drafts of the International Law Commission.

Mental capacity and deprivation of liberty: the Law Commission’s consultation paper

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 331-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Spencer-Lane
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Opportunity To Respond ◽  
Future Paper ◽  
The Law ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Consultation Paper ◽  
Law Commission

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the readership to the consultation being held by the Law Commission concerning proposed revisions to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Design/methodology/approach – Discussion of the consultation being held by the Law Commission concerning proposed revisions to the DoLS. Findings – These are as yet unknown as the consultation period is ongoing – it is planned that a future paper will examine the findings and recommendations from the consultation process. Practical implications – There has been criticism of the DoLS since their introduction in 2009. A new scheme provides the opportunity to respond to some of the criticisms and to develop more appropriate processes. The paper invites readers to take part in the consultation process and to respond to the proposals that have been developed. Social implications – A new and more appropriate scheme would be beneficial for service users and families/caregivers. Originality/value – This is the first opportunity for a revision to the DoLS scheme and introduction of the proposed scheme and the consultation process to the readership is highly appropriate and valuable to the Journal.

Evidence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roderick Munday
Keyword(s):  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Expert Evidence ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
Book Covers ◽  
Law Of Evidence ◽  
The Ideal

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. Written by leading academics and renowned for their clarity, these concise texts explain the intellectual challenges of each area of the law. Evidence provides students with a succinct yet thought-provoking introduction to all of the key areas covered on undergraduate law of evidence courses. Vibrant and engaging, the book sets out to demystify a traditionally intimidating area of law. Probing analysis of the issues, both historical and current, ensures that the text contains a thorough exploration of the ‘core’ of the subject. The book covers: the relevance and admissibility of evidence; presumptions and the burden of proof; witnesses: competence, compellability and various privileges; the course of the trial; witnesses’ previous consistent statements and the remnants of the rule against narrative; character and credibility; evidence of the defendant’s bad character; the opinion rule and the presentation of expert evidence; the rule against hearsay; confessions; drawing adverse inferences from a defendant’s omissions, lies or false alibis; and identification evidence. A clearly structured introduction, this is the ideal text for any student who may find evidence a somewhat forbidding subject.

scholarly journals Response of the Mental Health Act Commission

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 483-483
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Law ◽  
Consultation Paper ◽  
Law Commission

The Commission welcomes the opportunity to comment on Dr Oyebode's paper. As a former medical member of the Commission, Dr Oyebode can write with authority on the frustrations felt by many Commissioners when carrying out their statutory obligations to ensure that the requirements of Section 58 of the Act are being met. His paper is particularly opportune considering the recent publication by the Law Commission of its consultation paper No. 129 (Law Commission, 1993).

scholarly journals Unfitness to Plead and the Vulnerable Defendant: An Examination of the Law Commission's Proposals for a New Capacity Test

2011 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Howard
Keyword(s):  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Mental Capacity Act 2005 ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Many ◽  
Mental Capacity Act ◽  
Consultation Paper ◽  
Law Commission ◽  
Self Defence ◽  
Made In

The Law Commission published Consultation Paper No. 197 in October 2010 on unfitness to plead. Among the many issues to be covered were: an examination of the test for capacity which is narrower than the test for capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005; the scope of the trial of facts; and whether accident, mistake or self-defence could be raised as part of the defence in the context of unfitness to plead. This article will examine some of the proposals made in the Law Commission's Consultation Paper with particular focus on the meaning of capacity, along with the scope and limitations of the current law on unfitness to plead.

4. Registration of title

2020 ◽  
pp. 78-120
Author(s):  
Sandra Clarke ◽  
Sarah Greer
Keyword(s):  
Land Registration ◽  
Commission Report ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
Law Commission

This chapter examines registration of title, commonly called registered land, another fundamental reform of the 1925 property legislation. The first attempt at universal registration of title to land was the Land Registration Act 1925. This has since been replaced by the Land Registration Act 2002, which is itself the subject of a recent Law Commission report proposing reforms to the current law. Any transfer of land that is not yet registered will trigger registration of title, and thereafter the land will be subject to the law on registration. The government has announced a commitment to comprehensive registration of title by 2030. The chapter deals with the principles of registration; first registration of title; substantive registration; interests protected by notice, restriction, and overriding interests; alteration and rectification of the register; the correction of mistakes in the register and the payment of indemnity or compensation for mistakes. Proposals for reform are also discussed.

2. Intestacy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Sloan
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
The Law ◽  
Relevant Work ◽  
Consultation Paper ◽  
Law Commission

This chapter deals with the law of intestacy. The first section consists of an introduction to intestacy, dealing with the basic terms and rules, the incidence of intestacy, and the evolution and theoretical basis of the law. The second section gives a more detailed account of the current law. Considerable reference is made to relevant work of the Law Commission, most recently Intestacy and Family Provision Claims on Death (Law Com. No. 331, 2011), which was preceded by Consultation Paper 191 (2009) and sought to modernise the law of intestacy in light of contemporary social conditions. The Commission's suggestions were largely enacted in the Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014.

9. Inchoate offences

2020 ◽  
pp. 106-115
Author(s):  
Jonathan Herring
Keyword(s):  
Common Law ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Serious Crime ◽  
Commission Report ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law Commission

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses inchoate offences. Inchoate offences are where the full offence is not completed. The reason that the law fixes liability on defendants who have not fulfilled the full offence is to punish those who are willing to be involved in criminality even where the full offence is not, for one reason or another, completed. The law governing all inchoate offences is in a state of flux; the common law offence of incitement was replaced with new offences under the Serious Crime Act 2007. The law governing conspiracy and attempts was the subject of a Law Commission Report in December 2009.

A Supreme Court for the United Kingdom?

Legal Studies ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 36-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Hale
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Question Mark ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Law ◽  
Consultation Paper ◽  
Law Commission

The Government's Consultation Paper does not have a question mark in its title. It does not purport to be a serious discussion of the role of a Supreme Court in a democracy. This is scarcely to be expected of such a document or its respondents, so I propose to respond in its own terms rather than on the loftier plane usually adopted by contributors to this journal. More unexpectedly, the Consultation Paper does not even put forward a serious set of options to consider. At the Law Commission, we always had (at least a metaphorical) question mark in our title because we almost always put forward two options which do not appear in this consultation: the ‘do nothing’ and the ‘let’s abolish it' options. Both have a lot to be said for them here.

scholarly journals Treaty-Making Capacity of  Components of Federal States from the Perspective of the Works of the UN International Law Commission

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Karol Karski ◽  
Tomasz Kamiński
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Federal States ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

The submitted paper concerns the treaty-making capacity of components of federal (non-unitary) states. As the division of powers in respect to the conclusion of international treaties between a federal state and its components is based on the provisions of internal federal law, the authors decided to start the consideration of the topic with the presentation of selected appropriate internal law regulations of federal states. Although the study concentrates on an analysis of Swiss and German constitutional rules on the subject, the provisions of i.a. Belgian, US and Canadian law are also commented upon. Therefore it apparently seems to be an important legal question.The treaty-making capacity of components of federal (non-unitary) states was comprehensively discussed during the International Law Commission preparatory works on the regulation on the law of treaties. The provisions dedicated to that issue formed part of the reports prepared by each of the ILC Special Rapporteurs on the subject. The paper presents the draft propositions submitted by them, the views of ILC members, and responses received from states.The final draft of ILC articles on the law of treaties contained a paragraph concerning the issue at stake (than art. 5 § 2 of the draft) stipulating that member states of a federal union may possess such capacity only if such capacity is admitted by the federal constitution and within the scope defined therein. Nevertheless, this issue was omitted in the 1969 Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties (VCLT). Art. 6 of the VCLT on the capacity of States to conclude treaties does not mention the rights of components of federal states. It consists of one paragraph simply stating that every State possesses the capacity to conclude treaties. And the term ‘state’ for the purposes of that regulation possesses the same meaning as i.a. in the Charter of the United Nations, that is a State for the purposes of international law, or a state in the international meaning of that term.This does not mean however that territorial units forming a part of a federal state cannot conclude international agreements. But, this issue depends both on the provisions of internal law of the given state and on the practice of the states recognising the potential rights of the components of the federal (non-unitary) states in respect to conclusion of the treaties.

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