Header Image – Author: Mark Symes
Here’s the introduction to the piece
The march of information technology continues and lawyers need to keep abreast of its reach and implications. The recent publicity attracted by the rise of machine-learning artificial intelligence, as well as the scandal of the Post Office’s prosecution of numerous postmasters and postmistresses, makes the issue especially topical.
What do we mean by electronic evidence? The definition provided for “electronic evidence” given by the Council of Europe Guidelines on Electronic Evidence In Civil And Administrative Proceedings, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 30 January 2019, is as good as any: “any evidence derived from data contained in or produced by any device, the functioning of which depends on a software program or data stored on or transmitted over a computer system or network.”
Proceedings in England and Wales feature the presumption that mechanical instruments operate correctly absent contrary evidence. This arises from a Law Commission recommendation found in its 1997 paper Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Hearsay and Related Topics. This led to the repeal of s 69 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 which previously required express evidence that a computer was being operated properly and was working properly at the time of its relevant use.
