Oral testimony; fact construction; judicial discretion; impact of ECHR jurisprudence 2.

This text builds upon earlier editions of Evidence in the Greens Concise Scots Law series but is a new textbook offering a fresh approach to the law of evidence. It focuses on how the key features of the adversarial system influence the way that evidence is gathered, assessed and used in the civil and criminal courts. Evidence - Principles, Policy and Practice provides broad coverage of the principles and concepts of evidence and sets these within a contemporary policy context. It takes account of the growing body of law from the European Court of Human Rights, considers the particular impact this has had on our adversarial system of justice, and anticipates areas of future development and law reform. Case law and statutory provisions are discussed to illustrate principles, as well as to present strategies and arguments and to identify the scope for reform. The text is designed to meet the needs of both law students and legal practitioners.

The adversarial system: Oral testimony
fact construction
judicial discretion
impact of ECHR jurisprudence. Concepts of evidence: relevancy
admissibility and exclusionary rules
sufficiency and corroboration. Witnesses: competence and compellability
credit and cross-examination
reliability and weight. Children and other vulnerable witnesses. Expert witnesses and opinion evidence. Proof: burdens of proof, standard of proof, presumptions and judicial knowledge. Corroboration: Moorov doctrine / distress. Conduct of the proof or trial. The exclusionary rules: Improperly obtained evidence: confessions and goods

Character, including sexual history evidence
Hearsay
Privilege, including legal professional privilege and public interest immunity.