CRIMES (SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2006 (NO 2 OF 2006) - SECT 30 Restriction on granting leave
CRIMES (SEXUAL OFFENCES) ACT 2006 (NO 2 OF 2006) - SECT 30
Restriction on granting leave(1) In section 32D(1) of the Evidence Act 1958 —
(a) After "A court must not grant leave" insert "to compel the production of, to produce or"; and
(b) for paragraph (a) substitute —
"(a) the evidence will, either by itself or having regard to other evidence produced or adduced or to be produced or adduced by the party seeking leave, have substantial probative value to a fact in issue; and".
(2) For section 32D(2) of the Evidence Act 1958 substitute —
"(2) Without limiting the matters that the court may take into account for the purposes of sub-section (1)(c), the court must take into account—
(a) the likelihood, and the nature or extent, of harm that would be caused to the protected confider if the protected evidence is produced or adduced;
(b) the extent to which the protected evidence is necessary to allow the accused to make a full defence;
(c) the need to encourage victims of sexual offences to seek counselling and the extent to which victims may be discouraged to do so, or the extent to which the effectiveness of counselling may be diminished, if the protected evidence were produced or adduced;
(d) whether the party seeking to compel the production of or to produce or adduce the protected evidence is doing so on the basis of a discriminatory belief or bias;
(e) whether the protected confider objects to the disclosure of the protected evidence;
(f) the nature and extent of the reasonable expectation of confidentiality and the potential prejudice to the privacy of any person.".
(3) In section 32D(3) of the Evidence Act 1958 —
(a) for "Leave may be granted to adduce evidence of" substitute "A court may grant leave to compel the production of, or to produce or adduce,";
(b) after "seeking to" insert "compel its production or to produce or".