EVIDENCE ACT 1906 - SECT 9

EVIDENCE ACT 1906 - SECT 9

9 .         Spouses and ex-spouses of accused persons in criminal cases

        (1)         In any criminal proceeding (and at every stage of the proceeding), the wife or husband of an accused shall, subject to this Act, be —

            (a)         competent to give evidence on behalf of the prosecution, the accused or any person being tried jointly with the accused; and

            (b)         compellable to give evidence on behalf of the accused or any person being tried jointly with the accused; and

            (c)         compellable to give evidence on behalf of the prosecution against the accused or any person being tried jointly with the accused if —

                  (i)         the accused is charged with an offence under a provision mentioned in the Second Schedule or under a repealed Code section; or

                  (ii)         the accused is charged with attempting or conspiring to commit, or with inciting the commission of, an offence under a provision mentioned in the Second Schedule or under a repealed Code section; or

                  (iii)         the accused is charged on the complaint of the wife or husband with an offence committed with respect to the property of the wife or husband; or

                  (iv)         the wife or husband is compelled, under another enactment, to give that evidence.

        (2)         In any criminal proceeding (and at every stage of the proceeding), a former wife or former husband of an accused shall, subject to this Act, be competent and compellable to give evidence on behalf of the prosecution, the accused or any person being tried jointly with the accused.

        [(3)         deleted]

        (4)         Nothing in this section shall operate to compel an accused in any criminal proceeding to give evidence in the proceeding.

        (5)         If the wife or husband of an accused in any criminal proceeding is called as a witness for the prosecution but is not a compellable witness for the prosecution, it is the duty of the judge to inform the wife or husband that she or he is not compellable to give evidence on behalf of the prosecution if she or he is unwilling to do so.

        (6)         In subsection (1) —

        repealed Code section means a repealed section of The Criminal Code that, before it was repealed, enacted an offence constituted by acts or omissions that are substantially the same as the acts or omissions that constitute an offence under a section of The Criminal Code that is mentioned in Part 1 of the Second Schedule.

        [Section 9 inserted: No. 48 of 1991 s. 7; amended: No. 71 of 2000 s. 5; No. 27 of 2002 s. 31; No. 84 of 2004 s. 82.]

[ 10.         Deleted: No. 48 of 1991 s. 8.]