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CIVIL EVIDENCE ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1971 - SECT 14



14.(1) In this Act "civil proceedings" includes, in addition to
civil proceedings in any of the ordinary courts of law

(a)civil proceedings before any other tribunal, being proceedings in relation
to which the strict rules of evidence apply; and

(b)an arbitration or reference, whether under statutory provisions or not,

(2) In this Act

"court" does not include a court-martial, and, in relation to an arbitration
or reference, means the arbitrator or umpire and, in relation to proceedings
before a tribunal (not being one of the ordinary courts of law), means the
tribunal;

"legal proceedings" includes an arbitration or reference, whether under a
statutory provision or not;

(3) In this Act "statutory provision" and "transferred provision" have the
meanings assigned to them by section 1(f) and (g) respectively of the
Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.

(4) Without prejudice to section 11 of the Interpretation Act (Northern
Ireland) 1954, any reference in this Act to any other statutory provision is a
reference thereto as applied by or under any other statutory provision.

(5) Nothing in this Act shall prejudice the operation of any
statutory provision which provides (in whatever words) that any answer or
evidence given by a person in specified circumstances shall not be admissible
in evidence against him or some other person in any proceedings or class of
proceedings (however described). In this subsection the reference to giving
evidence is a reference to giving evidence in any manner whether by furnishing
information, making discovery, producing documents or otherwise.

(6) Nothing in this Act shall prejudice

(a)any power of a court, in any legal proceedings, to exclude evidence
(whether by preventing questions from being put or otherwise) at its
discretion; or

(b)the operation of any agreement (whenever made) between the parties to any
legal proceedings as to the evidence which is to be admissible (whether
generally or for any particular purpose) in those proceedings.

(7) It is hereby declared that where, by reason of any defect of speech or
hearing from which he is suffering, a person called as a witness in any
legal proceedings gives his evidence in writing or by signs, that evidence is
to be treated for the purposes of this Act as being given orally.


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© 1971 Crown Copyright

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