The Gazette 1975

FALSE WITNESS

HUNTER REPORT ON PERJURY (1973) FOR "JUSTICE"

S UMMARY OF RECOMMENDAT I ONS

by one simple non-religious promise or declara- tion, which should include a statement by the witness that he is aware that he is liable to be prosecuted if he does not tell the truth or wilfully misleads the Court (para. 77). 13. Within the limits of the adversary procedure, Courts should do everything in their power to see that witnesses provide all the relevant and admissible evidence within their knowledge paras. 73-76)). 14. Solicitors and counsel must in all cases accept that they have an overriding duty to try to ensure that the witnesses they call shall not knowingly and deliberately give false evidence to the Court (para. 83). 15. Prosecuting counsel should be under a legal obligation to disclose to the defence statements taken from witnesses which are helpful to the defence (para. 84). 16. Judges and magistrates should be more vigilant than they are to note and call attention to false evidence given in the course of trial proceedings and to send the papers to the Director of Public Prosecutions (para. 85-87). 17. The right of private individuals to bring private prosecutions for perjury should be retained (para. 89). Remedies 18. In criminal trials by jury, on the recommenda- tions of solicitor and counsel, an independent investigation into allegations of perjury by police witnesses not rebuttable during the trial should be carried out before an appeal, and the report made available to the prosecution, the defence and the Court (paras. 101 and 102). 19. In cases of alleged perjury by other prosecution witnesses an appeal aid certificate should b 6 granted at the request of solicitor and counsel (para. 103). 20. After the conviction for perjury of any witness in a criminal trial, any convicted defendant in that trial should have an unfettered right of appeal, irrespective of whether a previous appeal or application had been refused or abandoned, or he had not appealed.

Substantive law 1. For the purposes of the Perjury Act, or any amendment to it, judicial proceedings should include proceedings before an administrative tribunal (paras. 24-27). 2. Materiality should cease to be a constituent element of the offence of perjury, but should be a factor to be taken into account in a decision to prosecute and in the sentencing process (paras. 28-31). 3. The mens rea of perjury should require the making of a false statement with the intention that it be taken as true, and this requirement should be satisfied by recklessness (paras. 32-34). 4. The requirement of corroboration should be retained for prosecution for perjury in judicial proceedings and it should take the form of independent evidence (paras. 38-42). 5. Corroboration should not be required in relation to offences committed outside judicial proceed- ings (para. 37). 6. Self-contradiction should constitute perjury, but not necessarily where a witness had corrected his earlier false evidence ((paras. 43-47). 7. The defence of duress to a charge of perjury should be made more flexible (paras. 50 and 51). 8. A corporation, through a director, secretary or other official responsible for the policy of the company, should be capable of committing perjury (paras. 52-55). 9. Consideration should be given to the possibility of devising sanctions against the person who wilfully provides false information knowing that it is to be used in a sworn affidavit in judicial proceedings (paras. 56-61). Prevention and discouragement 10. The oath or affirmation should be administered by the judge or chairman of the Bench who should satisfy himself that the witness under- stands its implications (para. 71). 11. Consideration should be given to other ways of impressing on witnesses the importance of the oath (para. 72). 12. The existing oath, affirmation and statutory declaration should all be abolished and replaced

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