Criminal evidence act, 1992

• Act Number: 12
• Enactment Date: 07 July 1992

Number 12 of 1992
CRIMINAL EVIDENCE ACT, 1992
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
Preliminary
Section 1. Short title and commencement. 2. Interpretation (general). 3. Repeals.
PART II
Admissibility of Documentary Evidence
4. Definition (Part II). 5. Admissibility of documentary evidence. 6. Evidence of admissibility. 7. Notice of documentary evidence. 8. Admission and weight of documentary evidence. 9. Evidence as to credibility of supplier of information. 10. Amendment of Criminal Procedure Act, 1967. 11. Evidence of resolution of Dáil or Seanad.
PART III
Evidence in Certain Proceedings
12. Offences to which Part III applies. 13. Evidence through television link. 14. Evidence through intermediary. 15. Procedure in District Court in relation to certain offences. 16. Videorecording as evidence at trial. 17. Transfer of proceedings. 18. Identification evidence. 19. Application of Part III to persons with mental handicap.
PART IV
Competence and Compellability of Spouses and Former Spouses to give Evidence
20. Definitions (Part IV). 21. Competence of spouses and former spouses to give evidence. 22. Compellability to give evidence at instance of prosecution. 23. Compellability to give evidence at instance of accused. 24. Compellability to give evidence at instance of co-accused. 25. Saving. 26. Right to marital privacy.
PART V
Miscellaneous
27. Oath or affirmation not necessary for child etc., witness. 28. Abolition of requirement of corroboration for unsworn evidence of child, etc. 29. Evidence through television link by persons outside State. 30. Copies of documents in evidence.
SCHEDULE
Enactments Repealed
Acts Referred to Children Act, 1908 1908, c. 67 Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962 1962, No. 12 Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 1885, c. 69 Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1935 1935, No. 6 Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990 1990, No. 32 Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 1967, No. 12 Defence Act, 1954 1954, No. 18 Defence (Amendment) Act, 1987 1987, No. 8 Punishment of Incest Act, 1908 1908, c. 45
Number 12 of 1992
CRIMINAL EVIDENCE ACT, 1992
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW OF EVIDENCE IN RELATION TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AND TO PROVIDE FOR CONNECTED MATTERS. [7th July, 1992]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART I Preliminary
	Short title and commencement.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Criminal Evidence Act, 1992.
	(2) This Act (except Part III and section 29 ) shall come into operation three months after the date of its passing.
	(3) Part III and section 29 shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister for Justice and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions; and, in particular, any of the provisions of sections 13 to 16 and section 29 may be brought into operation on different days for different courts and for different circuits and district court districts.
	(4) (a) The provisions of this Act (other than Part III (except sections 15 , 16 (1) (b) and 18 ) and section 29 ) shall not apply to criminal proceedings instituted before the commencement of the provisions concerned.
	(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a) criminal proceedings are instituted—
	(i) when a summons or warrant of arrest is issued in respect of an offence,
	(ii) when a person is arrested without a warrant, or
	(iii) when a person is remanded for trial pursuant to section 177 or 178 (as amended by section 3 of the Defence (Amendment) Act, 1987 ) of the Defence Act, 1954 .
	Interpretation (general).	2.—(1) In this Act—
	“the Act of 1935” means the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1935 ;
	“court” includes court-martial;
	“criminal proceedings” includes proceedings before a court-martial and proceedings on appeal;
	“document” includes—
	(i) a map, plan, graph, drawing or photograph, or
	(ii) a reproduction in permanent legible form, by a computer or other means (including enlarging), of information in non-legible form;
	“information” includes any representation of fact, whether in words or otherwise;
	“information in non-legible form” includes information on microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape or disk;
	“sexual offence” means rape, buggery, sexual assault (within the meaning of section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990 ), aggravated sexual assault (within the meaning of section 3 of that Act), rape under section 4 of that Act or an offence under—
	(i) section 3 (as amended by section 8 of the Act of 1935), 6 (as amended by section 9 of that Act) or 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 ,
	(ii) section 1 or 2 (as amended by section 12 of the Act of 1935) of the Punishment of Incest Act, 1908 ,
	(iii) section 17 (as amended by section 11 of the Act of 1935) of the Children Act, 1908, or
	(iv) section 1, 2 or 4 of the Act of 1935,
	excluding an attempt to commit any such offence;
	“videorecording” means any recording, on any medium, from which a moving image may by any means be produced and includes the accompanying soundtrack (if any), and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.
	(2) Nothing in Part II or in section 30 shall prejudice the admissibility in evidence in any criminal proceedings of information contained in a document that is otherwise so admissible.
	(3) Where in any criminal proceedings the age of a person at any time is material for the purposes of any provision of this Act, his age at that time shall for the purposes of that provision be deemed, unless the contrary is proved, to be or to have been that which appears to the court to be or to have been his age at that time.
	(4) In this Act—
	(a) a reference to a Part or section is to a Part or section of this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,
	(b) a reference to a subsection or paragraph is to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
	(5) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment (including this Act).
	Repeals.	3.—The enactments specified in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) thereof.
PART II Admissibility of Documentary Evidence
	Definition (Part II) .	4.—In this Part “business” includes any trade, profession or other occupation carried on, for reward or otherwise, either within or outside the State and includes also the performance of functions by or on behalf of—
	(a) any person or body remunerated or financed wholly or partly out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas,
	(b) any institution of the European Communities,
	(c) any national or local authority in a jurisdiction outside the State, or
	(d) any international organisation.
	Admissibility of documentary evidence.	5.—(1) Subject to this Part, information contained in a document shall be admissible in any criminal proceedings as evidence of any fact therein of which direct oral evidence would be admissible if the information—
	(a) was compiled in the ordinary course of a business,
	(b) was supplied by a person (whether or not he so compiled it and is identifiable) who had, or may reasonably be supposed to have had, personal knowledge of the matters dealt with, and
	(c) in the case of information in non-legible form that has been reproduced in permanent legible form, was reproduced in the course of the normal operation of the reproduction system concerned.
	(2) Subsection (1) shall apply whether the information was supplied directly or indirectly but, if it was supplied indirectly, only if each person (whether or not he is identifiable) through whom it was supplied received it in the ordinary course of a business.
	(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to—
	(a) information that is privileged from disclosure in criminal proceedings,
	(b) information supplied by a person who would not be compellable to give evidence at the instance of the party wishing to give the information in evidence by virtue of this section, or
	(c) subject to subsection (4), information compiled for the purposes or in contemplation of any—
	(i) criminal investigation,
	(ii) investigation or inquiry carried out pursuant to or under any enactment,
	(iii) civil or criminal proceedings, or
	(iv) proceedings of a disciplinary nature.
	(4) Subsection (3) (c) shall not apply where—
	(a) (i) the information contained in the document was compiled in the presence of a judge of the District Court and supplied on oath by a person in respect of whom an offence was alleged to have been committed and who is ordinarily resident outside the State,
	(ii) either section 14 (which deals with the taking of a deposition in the presence of such a judge and the accused) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , could not be invoked or it was not practicable to do so, and
	(iii) the person in respect of whom the offence was alleged to have been committed either has died or is outside the State and it is not reasonably practicable to secure his attendance at the criminal proceedings concerned,
	or
	(b) the document containing the information is—
	(i) a map, plan, drawing or photograph (including any explanatory material in or accompanying the document concerned),
	(ii)...