Section One: Disclosure

Introduction

One aspect of natural justice is that people should know what they are charged with and what evidence there is against them. It would not be fair to expect someone to answer or defend a charge when they did not know what evidence the police (or other prosecuting authority) were going to bring to court to try to prove it. It also improves the efficiency of court proceedings if the prosecution knows what evidence the defendant will bring by way of defence.

Remember the trial day itself is the 'tip of the iceberg'; to a large extent the parties already know what they are going to say and what the other party is going to say. They are well rehearsed: it is the bench that must now hear and appraise the evidence.

The rules of disclosure contained in the Criminal Disclosure Act 2008 cover what information (and in what timeframe) parties must disclose to each other.

Reading

• Judicial JP Manual chapter 8