A member asked
about 9 years ago
Unsigned witness statements
Can an unsigned witness statement made by a person who is unwilling to attend a trial be used as evidence?
Researchers at LawAdvisor
Hi there. In New South Wales, the general rule is that a witness statement must be signed by the intended witness. This rule stems from the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) which apply to all civil proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court, District Court and Local Court. The rules of evidence in the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal are less strict, but a witness statement should still be signed where possible.
Despite the above rule, an unsigned witness statement may be allowed as evidence in a court hearing if the witness cannot be procured or if the court, exercising its discretion, decides to accept an unsigned witness statement. In making this decision, the court would take into account various factors, such as the prospects of obtaining the witness’ signature, the significance of the evidence contained in the unsigned statement, and any potential prejudice that would be caused by accepting an unsigned statement.
If the witness is simply unwilling to attend the hearing to give evidence, a court may decide to issue that person with a subpoena to attend to give evidence. A subpoena would force the person to attend court to give his or her evidence.
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