MPs and peers urge government to rein in evidence rules and address human rights

CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILL: 'bad character' rule should be limited to past convictions

The Criminal Justice Bill raises a number of human rights concerns which the government must address, according to the parliamentary joint committee on human rights.

The committee, which published a report on the Bill this week, criticised in particular the proposal to allow evidence of a defendant's bad character to be admitted in court under certain conditions.

It warned that the definition of 'bad character' was very wide: 'There appears to be a potential here for vague and impressionistic evidence to be given...

which may tend to undermine the presumption of innocence.'

It recommended that admissible evidence of a defendant's bad character should be limited to previous convictions, and stressed that this must happen only if the disclosure is strictly relevant to the case.

'These current provisions [for the admission of past convictions] leave a high degree of discretion to the courts, and allow a high degree of subjectivity on the part of judges in an area where the case law will inevitably be undeveloped,' it said.

The report also warned that the proposal to allow a conviction on hearsay evidence could lead to defendants not receiving a fair trial.

It admitted that there may be 'rare cases' where it is appropriate, but 'nevertheless, we consider that there is potential for a violation of rights'.

The Legal Action Group's policy director Nony Ardill said the report had raised important concerns.

'We share the committee's disquiet about some of the new rules of evidence,' she said.

'Bad character evidence has been recast so widely that it could include a suggestion that someone is disposed to behave in a way that meets with disapproval - convictions should not be supported by vague innuendos.'

Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association and chairman of the Law Society's access to justice committee, also agreed with the recommendations.

'Under the Bill's provisions, a trial could become about the defendant's previous character rather than about the offence itself,' he said.

Victoria MacCallum