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Evidence in family proceedings 2018

29 November 2018 / David Burrows
Issue: 7819 / Categories: Features , Family
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David Burrows shines the spotlight on the latest developments in evidence & family law

  • Standard of proof: overall assessment on the preponderance of evidence.
  • Obtaining evidence from the police in care proceedings.
  • Expert evidence: a worsening squeeze on legal aid payments in children proceedings.

The law of evidence is mostly defined by the common law, and can only be changed by statute or by higher common law authority. Court rules may define the common law, but they cannot change it. In ‘Achieving best evidence in the civil courts’, NLJ 19 October 2018 at p15, Richard Samuel illustrates this in relation to oral evidence in cases where it ‘really counts’, under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR 1998) (ie CPR 1998 rr 32.4(1) and (2) (witness statements as a summary of oral evidence), 32.5(2) (statements as evidence in chief) and 32.10 (witnesses with served statements only to give evidence).

The Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) repeat these rules verbatim at rr 22.4, 22.5 and 22.5(2). Meanwhile, achieving of best evidence (ie Achieving

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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