The General Chiropractic Council (Professional Conduct Committee) Rules Order of Council 2000

Evidence U.K.

7.—(1) Production of a certificate purporting to be under the hand of a competent officer of a court in the United Kingdom that a person has been convicted of a criminal offence, or an extract conviction of a court in Scotland, shall be conclusive evidence of the offence committed, and the only evidence which may be called by the respondent in connection with an allegation of a conviction so certified or extracted is evidence for the purpose of proving that he is not the person referred to in the certificate or extract.

(2) The Committee may receive oral, documentary or other evidence of any fact which appears to be relevant to the allegation before it, except that, where any matter tendered in evidence is such as would not be admissible in a court of criminal jurisdiction in the country in the United Kingdom in which the allegation is heard, it shall not be received unless the Committee is satisfied, after consulting the legal assessor, that it is desirable in the interests of making due inquiry that it should be so received, having regard to the justice of the case and the difficulty or expense of obtaining evidence which would be so admissible.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2), if satisfied that the interests of justice will not be prejudiced thereby, the Committee may admit in evidence without strict proof copies of documents and other material the originals of which would be admissible, and (without prejudice to the foregoing) maps, plans, photographs, certificates of conviction and sentence, certificates of registration of birth, marriage or death, records (including registers) of the Council, notes of proceedings before the Committee, the Health Committee or the Investigating Committee and any other tribunals and the records of such tribunals; and the Committee may take note without strict proof of the professional qualifications, registration, address and identity of the respondent and of any other person.

(4) A party may admit a fact, and a fact so admitted may be received in evidence without further proof.

(5) The Committee may of its own motion or on the application of a party require a witness to appear before it and give evidence, and may require a person to attend to produce documents; and it shall call the person making the allegation to appear before it if that person is not called as a witness by the Solicitor, unless in the view of the Committee there are special reasons why that person should not, or is not able, so to appear.

(6) Without the leave of the Committee, a person who is not a party to the proceedings or the person making the allegation concerned may not give evidence on any matter (other than evidence as to the giving, service or receipt of notice or other documents, evidence to comprise only the production or verification of documents or evidence in rebuttal of evidence given by another person) unless he has been absent from the proceedings until called to give evidence.

(7) The Committee may administer oaths.

(8) The posting or leaving of a notice under Rule 21(1) for the purposes of Rules 3(2), (3) or (4), 4 or 10(4) may be proved by a certificate in writing purporting to be signed by the person posting or leaving it, to which there shall be annexed (in the case of posting) any confirmation or the posting issued by or on behalf of the Post Office or other postal operator.