Update: the 12th Edition includes the High Court's April 2016 decision in IMM v The Queen (2016) regarding the probative value of complaint evidence and tendency evidence. Uniform Evidence Law 12th Edition provides Australia's leading guidance on the uniform evidence law for barristers, courts, litigators and students alike.
Up to a quarter of the legislative provisions are reviewed in the courts annually, which makes it essential to have a current copy at hand. Case law and legislative developments are thoroughly considered. High Court judgments referred to include: IMM v The Queen (2016) regarding the meaning of the term 'probative value'; R v GW (2016) regarding unsworn evidence' (particularly given by children). Police v Dunstall (2015) regarding the common lawunfairness discretion'; Honeysett v The Queen (2014) regarding expert opinion evidence; Important statutory amendments, requiring extensive re-writing of the commentary on a number of the sections, include the Jury Directions Act 2015 (Vic) dealing with jury warnings in criminal proceedings. New features in the commentary include: detailed consideration of the question whether affidavit evidence (or other written statement) is subject to the provisions in Part 2.1; the Introduction includes new sections on the application of the uniform evidence law in joint trials and in circumstances where no objection is taken by a party; detailed discussion of new developments in the area of tendency and coincidence evidence; and the inclusion of useful flow charts prepared by the Judicial College of Victoria, which simplify essential concepts including hearsay, opinion evidence, tendency evidence, coincidence evidence, credibility evidence, identification evidence and privilege. The 12th edition provides more accessible content, to a wider range of practitioners. The legislative provisions of N.S.W., the Commonwealth, Victoria, Tasmania, the A.C.T. and Northern Territory are reproduced in full and the commentary is expanded to include both the A.C.T. and the Northern Territory. With its popular and highly accessible annotated legislation format, and comprehensive commentary on the ALRC foundations of the law, Uniform Evidence Law 12th Edition is the authoritative resource on evidence law in N.S.W., the Commonwealth, Victoria, Tasmania, the A.C.T. and Northern Territory.
