Use of Third Party Confessions: R v Finch
| Author | Colin Tapper |
| DOI | 10.1350/ijep.2007.11.4.318 |
| Published date | 01 October 2007 |
| Date | 01 October 2007 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
CASE NOTE
USE OF THIRD PARTY CONFESSIONS:RvFINCH
CASE NOTES
Use of third party confessions:
RvFinch
By Colin Tapper*
Emeritus Professor of Law and Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford
f the two major areas of criminal evidence transformed by the Criminal
Justice Act 2003, the law relating to bad character has so far generated
the larger volume of case law. This may be because the changes were
more radical, or more contentious, or more often decisive of outcomes; or because
the statutory provisions so blatantly conflicted with the spirit of the recommenda-
tions of the Law Commission upon which they purported to be based; or because
the final form became so complex, and the drafting difficult to comprehend. The
hearsay provisions were less controversial, followed the Law Commission’s recom-
mendations somewhat more closely, and are less often decisive of outcome. They
are, however, no less complex, and their drafting no easier to comprehend.
Part of the problem with these provisions lies in their integration with the old law.
Despite the adoption of a new definition, effectively of hearsay, but formally of a
statement (s. 115), it was decided to ‘preserve’ many of the exceptions in the old
law (s. 118), including those for confessions and admissions. In addition the Act
imports (s. 128) a raft of new provisions as a new s. 76A of the Police and Criminal
Evidence Act 1984 to cater explicitly for the use by one co-accused of confessions
made by another.
From this brief summary it can be discerned that the law relating to confessions
has not been divorced from that of other forms of hearsay, despite its having
emerged separately and very much earlier (1200–25), and having developed
largely independently. The most obvious area of overlap relates to the use of
third-party confessions, and the greatest difficulty there has been experienced in
318 (2007) 11 E&P 318–321 E & P
O
* Email: colin.tapper@law.oxford.ac.uk.
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