Confessions

PUBLIC INTEREST IMMUNITY AND PRIVILEGE


PUBLIC INTEREST – PRE-TRIAL PROCEDURE

- Prosecution decides what evidence forms the case
- Other ‘unused’ material should be disclosed to the defence if it may weaken
the prosecution case or strengthen the defence case.

The prosecuting authority will decide what evidence it plans to use at trial to prove its
case. There will inevitably be material that has been generated as part of the
investigation which the prosecution does not plan to use.

Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 Part 1 – All unused material
should be disclosed to the defence if it is relevant – so if it might weaken the
prosecution case or strengthen the defence case.

POTENTIAL UNUSED MATERIAL

- Unused Material…
- Statements…
- Documents…
- Photographs…
- Details of the investigation…
- …that might not point towards D
- R v Ward (1993)

DISCLOSURE

Disclosure may reveal the presence of:

- Informants
- Participants
- Listening devices
- Observation posts

Public interest tends to arise in cases concerned with national security and police
information (although it is not limited to those heads).

This sort of information could concern information from secret informants or
undercover police officers. To disclose the source of the information or even the
information itself may reveal the identity of the informant or officer and prevent
his/her operating effectively.