Criminal Evidence Act, 1992

Interpretation (general).

2.—(1) In this Act—

“the Act of 1935” means the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1935 ;

“court” includes court-martial;

“criminal proceedings” includes proceedings before a court-martial and proceedings on appeal;

“document” includes—

(i) a map, plan, graph, drawing or photograph, or

(ii) a reproduction in permanent legible form, by a computer or other means (including enlarging), of information in non-legible form;

“information” includes any representation of fact, whether in words or otherwise;

“information in non-legible form” includes information on microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape or disk;

“sexual offence” means rape, buggery, sexual assault (within the meaning of section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990 ), aggravated sexual assault (within the meaning of section 3 of that Act), rape under section 4 of that Act or an offence under—

(i) section 3 (as amended by section 8 of the Act of 1935), 6 (as amended by section 9 of that Act) or 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 ,

(ii) section 1 or 2 (as amended by section 12 of the Act of 1935) of the Punishment of Incest Act, 1908 ,

(iii) section 17 (as amended by section 11 of the Act of 1935) of the Children Act, 1908, or

(iv) section 1, 2 or 4 of the Act of 1935,

excluding an attempt to commit any such offence;

“videorecording” means any recording, on any medium, from which a moving image may by any means be produced and includes the accompanying soundtrack (if any), and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(2) Nothing in Part II or in section 30 shall prejudice the admissibility in evidence in any criminal proceedings of information contained in a document that is otherwise so admissible.

(3) Where in any criminal proceedings the age of a person at any time is material for the purposes of any provision of this Act, his age at that time shall for the purposes of that provision be deemed, unless the contrary is proved, to be or to have been that which appears to the court to be or to have been his age at that time.

(4) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a Part or section is to a Part or section of this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection or paragraph is to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

(5) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment (including this Act).