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Evidence and the Litigation Process (3rd Edition)

Since its first publication in 1992, this work by Professor Jeffrey Pinsler, SC has been regarded as the authoritative source of reference on the law of evidence and the litigation process. As published by V.K. Rajah, SC (as His Honour was then) in these pages in December 2003, “Professor Pinsler needs no introduction” and his name is “synonymous with civil procedure in Singapore”. Professor Pinsler is regarded as the leading authority in evidence, procedure, and ethics and professional responsibility. This third edition of his work has been highly anticipated.

What is perhaps the most striking feature of this work is its unique balance between the analytical and the practical. In the review of the second edition by Sant Singh, SC in 2003, it was published in these pages that this work combines “the relationship between the law of evidence and procedure in practice”, and is a “remarkable synergistic approach – of marrying the substantive with the practical”. The third edition follows this successful approach. As Professor Pinsler explains in the Preface, it is hoped that “the balance of the analytical and practical approaches” will provide the reader with a “composite and holistic understanding of how the machinery of litigation operates in civil and criminal cases”.

In this third edition, the title has been changed from Evidence, Advocacy and the Litigation Process to Evidence and the Litigation Process in order to reflect the expanded evidential content. This new emphasis on evidence and the litigation process is much welcomed, as it provides the reader with useful knowledge of this area of the law. The text is divided into six Parts – Introduction (Chapter 1), Admissibility (Chapters 2-10), Proof (Chapters 11-13), Privileges and Immunities (Chapters 14-15), Preparation of Evidence (Chapters 16-17), and Trial (Chapters 18-23).

Part I provides an introduction to the litigation process and the nature and scope of the Evidence Act. This frames the context for understanding the law of evidence in the chapters to follow. In Part II: Admissibility, Chapter 2 introduces two categories of admissible evidence – facts in issue and relevant facts. It sets out general and specific categories of relevant facts. The following chapters discuss these five specific categories: (i) Chapter 3 on similar fact evidence; (ii) Chapter 4 on the hearsay rule, while Chapter 5 concerns admissions and confessions and Chapter 6, other exceptions to the rule; (iii) Chapter 7 on judgments; (iv) Chapter 8 on opinion evidence; and (v) Chapter 9 on character evidence. It is perhaps fitting that Part II ends with Chapter 10 on judicial discretion to exclude evidence, but the text notes that this will ultimately depend on the future interpretation of the High Court’s observations in Law Society of Singapore v Tan Guat Neo Phyllis [2008] 2 SLR(R) 239. In Part III: Proof, Chapter 11 discusses the modes of proof, Chapter 12 the burden and standards of proof, and Chapter 13 the rules of corroboration. In Part IV: Privileges and Immunities, Chapter 14 discusses legal professional privilege, whereas Chapter 15 deals with other privileges and circumstances in which other forms of immunity may protect communications and information.

The focus then turns to the litigation process. In Part V : Preparation of Evidence, Chapter 16 discusses foundations of litigation, and Chapter 17 the selection and organisation of the evidence. This is followed by Part VI, which sets out chronologically, the components of a trial: (i) Chapter 18 on opening the case; (ii) Chapter 19 on evidence-in-chief; (iii) Chapter 20 on cross-examination; (iv) Chapter 21 on re-examination; and (v) Chapter 22 on closing address. Chapter 23 then concludes with an overview of the trial process. Parts V and VI offer the reader practical guidance in litigation, and even include examples in trial advocacy so that practitioners may relate to these strategies in practice.

Particularly impressive throughout this third edition is the coverage of the new Criminal Procedure Code, which was passed in May 2010 but has yet to come into operation. The reader will find the comparative analysis of the new Code and its predecessor invaluable when appreciating the impact of the reforms. Furthermore, what is delightful is that the text does not confine itself to merely restating the law; instead at times, it challenges the reader to think critically about the rules of evidence. In this regard, underlying this work is the tension in applying the Evidence Act originally enacted two centuries ago, to our modern litigation process today.

Very few works have had such a widespread influence equally in academia and in practice. In the Forward to this third edition, Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong writes that the work “achieves a balance between analytical discussion and the practical application of the law” and this approach “commends itself by providing the reader with a thorough picture of how the rules of evidence work in modern practice”. Indeed, this work informs those interested in the law of its wider practical implications, and reminds practitioners of the principles behind litigation. It represents the fusion of academia and practice within this area of the law, showing that perhaps the analytical and the practical are flip sides of the same coin.

This is a monumental work for anyone who is interested in the law of evidence and the litigation process – for students, for academics, and for practitioners alike.

Wu Zhuang-Hui *
Drew & Napier LLC