Inquiry into the Foreign Evidence Amendment Bill 2008
Information about the Inquiry
The primary purpose of the Bill is to streamline the process to allow the
admission of a foreign business record as evidence in court proceedings
unless the court considers the record is not reliable, probative, or is
privileged. The amendments would retain the current provisions for adducing
foreign material that does not appear to consist of a business record. The
Bill also:
- provides that testimony may also be taken under an
obligation to tell the truth imposed, whether expressly or implied, by
or under a law of the foreign country;
- creates a presumption that the requirements as to the form
of the testimony have been met, unless evidence sufficient to raise a
doubt is adduced to the contrary;
- clarifies the application of the Foreign Evidence Act to
non-conviction based proceeds of crime matters;
- modernises references to audio and video tape;
- gives the court discretion to limit the use that may be made
of foreign evidence, where there is a danger that a particular use of
the foreign evidence may prejudice a party; and
- removes an anomaly whereby the Attorney-General, in
certifying that material has been received in response to a mutual
assistance request, must also certify that the material satisfies the
requirements for testimony.
The amendments would apply to Commonwealth criminal proceedings, related
civil proceedings, and all proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act
2002 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 1987. The amendments could
also apply, through regulations, to State and Territory criminal
proceedings, related civil proceedings specified in regulations and proceeds
of crime proceedings.
The reporting date for this inquiry is 6 March
2009.
Deadline for submissions: TBA
Submissions should be sent to:
Committee
Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Department of
the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament
House
Canberra ACT
2600
Australia
The committee
encourages the lodgement of submissions in electronic form. As the
secretariat is in the process of implementing a new system for lodging
submissions via the Parliament's website, you will find a link to submit
online in the box below. Alternatively, intending submitters requiring
further information could also contact the secretariat before lodging your
submission.
Notes to assist in preparing submissions are available
from the website
https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm
or telephone the secretariat on 02 6277 3560, fax: 02
6277 5794, or e-mail at the above address.
Once the committee accepts your submission, it becomes
a confidential committee document and is protected by Parliamentary
Privilege. You must not release your submission without the committee’s
permission. If you do, it is not protected by Parliamentary Privilege. At
some stage during the inquiry, the committee normally makes submissions
public. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept confidential.
Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people
should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02 6277 7799). Adobe
also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF
documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you
require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a
committee inquiry, please contact the committee secretary.
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
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