Law of evidence and common law: the system of evidence and the secrecy in english law

Abstract

Increasingly, the standardization of English law draws the interest of researchers, especially in view of the possible approaches between the Anglo-Saxon and Roman-Germanic systems. This coexistence of current case Law and the statutes of positive law also do not go unnoticed in the study of procedural law and the english evidential system. Thus, this paper aims to investigate whether the legal notions historically consolidated by the english Law of evidence remains unchanged. It is necessary to identify the legal nature of the changes occurring in the legal exclusion rule and its modalities (hearsay evidence, bad character testimony and illegal evidence). Under the same approach, to examine the principal means of obtaining evidence in English criminal proceedings (criminal identification, search and seizure, interception and surveillance) in light of the historical recognition of the fundamental Right to privacy and the state interest in the secrecy of criminal investigations. Therefore, it is important to analyse the statutes and decisions of the english Courts and the European Court of Human Rights.