Criminal Justice Act 2003

Section 117: Business and other documents

408. This Section provides for the admissibility of statements in documentary records provided certain conditions are met. These conditions are (subsection (2)):

• the document was created or received by a person in the course of a trade, business, profession or as the holder of a paid or unpaid office; and

• the person who supplied the information in the statement had or may reasonably be supposed to have had personal knowledge of the matters dealt with in the statement; and

• each person through whom the information was supplied received the information in the course of a trade, business, profession or other occupation or as the holder of a paid or unpaid office.

409. Subsection (2) therefore reflects the current position relating to business and other documents in section 24 (1)(c)(ii) and section 24(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which is being repealed. However, in the case of documents prepared for the purpose of criminal investigations or proceedings, the statement will only be admissible if the supplier of the information is unavailable or cannot reasonably be expected to recall any of the matters dealt with in the statement.

410. Even if a statement in a documentary record meets the conditions as set out in this Section, the evidence will not be allowed if it is considered unreliable. Subsections (6) and (7) permit the court to direct that the statement shall not be admissible where there is reason to doubt its reliability on the basis of its contents, source of information, mode of supply and circumstances of creation or reception.