When Power Goes Wrong · Evidence & Proof Ledger · Part 31

When can emails, notes and business records be used even if the author does not testify?

The Evidence Act permits hearsay in defined circumstances and contains a specific business-record route. Admissibility depends on the statutory conditions, not merely on the document looking official.

Documents often contain statements made by people who will not be called as witnesses. That creates a hearsay question if the statement is offered for its truth.

Evidence Act s 18 provides the general hearsay exception where the maker is unavailable and the circumstances give reasonable assurance of reliability. Section 19 provides a specific route for hearsay statements contained in business records where the statutory conditions are met.

Official-looking does not equal automatically true.A business record may prove that an entry was made, but whether every assertion inside it is admissible for its truth depends on the hearsay and documentary-evidence rules.

Non-hearsay useA document may be relevant simply because the statement was made, regardless of whether it was true.

Hearsay useIf offered for truth, identify the applicable statutory exception.

Business recordsSection 19 provides a specialised admissibility route.

Discovery documentsEvidence Act also contains specific civil rules concerning documents produced through discovery.

Always identify why the statement matters: because it was said, or because what it says is alleged to be true.

Primary statuteEvidence Act 2006, ss 16–20 and 130–134.

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