Evidence

Abstract

The Scottish Parliament has contributed significantly to the development of the Scots law of evidence, and we would not wish to downplay its achievements in that regard. This chapter shows that evidence is one area in which the Westminster Parliament could not be accused of neglecting Scots law. If a need for legislative reform was identified, it was generally met. Thus, while the measures introduced by the Scottish Parliament have been important, indeed quite radical in some cases, they have tended to continue the legislative development of particular areas of the law of evidence already begun by the Westminster Parliament. No real theme emerges from those measures. They have dealt with a series of different issues, each in a specific way. The Scots law of evidence continues to evolve along its own lines, in some respects similar to and in others different from the law of England, but that has long been the case, so that this owes nothing to the creation of the Scottish Parliament.