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Preface

Document Cited in Related
AuthorDavid R. A. Caruso
Published date01 January 2017
Date01 January 2017
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/1365712716677108
Preface
On behalf of the hosts and sponsors, it was a privilege to administer the proceedings of the 5th
International Conference on Evidence Law and Forensic Science (‘ICELFS 2015’), which was held
in July 2015 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
The ICELFS Programme has its origins in the efforts of Professor Zhang Baosheng to introduce rules of
evidence in Chinese courts. Professor Zhang is a former Vice-President of the Chinese University of
Political Science and Law ( ‘CUPL’). He studied under Professor Ronald J Allen, the John Henry
Wigmore Chair of Law at Northwestern University. By 2006, Professor Zhang established the Institute
of Evidence Law and Forensic Science within CUPL. The Institute, in turn, welcomed and invited
Professor Allen to teach evidence law and to advise on the development of uniform evidence laws for
Chinese courts. Professor Allen and Professor Zhang then worked together to welcome other interna-
tional scholars of evidence law and forensic science to share their knowledge through teaching at the
Institute. These scholars were drawn from Australia, Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom and United
States and were experts in the fields of evidence law, jurisprudence and forensic science and practice.
In conjunction with this work, a biennial conference on evidence law and forensic science was
conceived, to foster, develop and promote the work of the Institute. The first ICELFS was held at
CUPL in Beijing in 2007. It was supported by the Key Laboratory of Evidence Science of the Chinese
Ministry of Education and co-sponsored by Northwestern University.
The first ICELFS was attended by a number of international delegates. They joined their Chinese
colleagues to discuss and debate the content of the Draft Uniform Provisions of Evidence of the People’s
Court (Proposals for Judicial Interpretation) which had been developed. Since 2007, these laws have
been trialled in selected courts of China for empirical assessment. Some of these trials are the subject of
discourse in the articles comprised in this edition of the International Journal of Evidence and Proof.
The success of the first ICELFS led to its continuation and expansion. It was biennially convened,
with conferences in 2009, 2011 and 2013. ICELFS attracted the support of the Collaborative Innovation
Center of Judicial Civilization (‘CICJC’), created through the Chinese Ministries of Education and
Finance. At the 2011 ICELFS, the International Association of Evidence Science (‘IAES’) was estab-
lished. The IAES formalised the relationships and work being undertaken to foster international colla-
boration between Eastern and Western evidence scholars and forensic scientists and also took
responsibility for the biennial ICELFS. The officers and members of IAES include scholars and practi-
tioners of law and science from Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australasia.
At the Council Meeting of IAES at the 2013 ICELFS, I submitted to the Council that the ICELFS
Programmes were of such merit and value to the international community of evidence law and forensic
science, that ICELFS should further its ambitions by convening beyond the borders of China. The IAES
Council agreed.
The University of Adelaide strongly supported the convention of the 5th ICELFS in the City of
Adelaide. The Litigation Law Unit, the Adelaide Law School, the Faculty of Professions and the Office
of the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University all supported hosting ICELFS 2015 in Adelaide,
and the head of each School, Faculty and Office were involved in the Conference Proceedings.
In addition to the University of Adelaide, ICELFS 2015 enjoyed the financial support of the Law
Foundation of South Australia; Fisher Jeffries Barristers and Solicitors (a major Adelaide Law Firm); the
The International Journalof
Evidence & Proof
2017, Vol. 21(1-2) 3–4
ªThe Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1365712716677108
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