Hearsay rules prevent courts from considering unproven information, but there are exceptions such as recorded memories and vital statistics documents. Taiwan only recently adopted a hearsay rule, with exceptions for business records. Hearsay rules protect accused persons’ right to confront their accusers.
If Paul does something and tells Terry, Terry may be able to testify about statements Paul made in court. Although Terry did not attend the event, he witnessed Paul’s statements. If Paul does something and tells Terry and Terry tells Melissa, Melissa can’t testify in court. Melissa’s contribution in court would be considered hearsay. A hearsay rule generally prevents a court from considering information that cannot be substantiated.
Most legal systems have regulations that determine the circumstances in which evidence will or will not be admissible. Any such regulation can be called a test rule. Hearsay rules fall into this category. A hearsay rule usually defines evidence that poses a risk to the execution of justice. At the same time, such rules also tend to outline evidence that a legal system will accept despite the fact that a firsthand witness will not be available to testify in court.
When hearsay rules are in place, courts usually reject evidence that cannot be proven or that a person has not witnessed. In the example above, Melissa cannot be considered a witness because she has no evidence that Paul made any statements to Terry. For this reason the lack of a hearsay rule could be considered inhumane. This is because in most just and democratic societies, the opportunity for confrontation is generally seen as a fundamental right. A hearsay rule provides protection to accused persons by allowing them the opportunity to know and address their accusers.
There are, however, generally some exceptions to the hearsay rule. For example, in the federal justice system in the United States (US), recorded memories are not excluded from hearsay. A recorded recollection refers to a document, such as a journal entry, that demonstrates that a witness was aware of a matter that he may not have remembered at the time of trial. Vital statistics documents and family records such as birth certificates, fetal death records, and heirloom entries are also not subject to the hearsay rule.
Only in 2003 did Taiwan adopt a hearsay rule. This provision provides that, unless otherwise provided by law, any extrajudicial verbal declaration derived from a person other than the accused is inadmissible. One of the exceptions in this jurisdiction is the admissibility of business records relating to ordinary business activities. This means that even if the creator of the business record is not present, the document can be used to confirm or dispute claims made by a litigant.
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