Book – Evidence Law in Queensland (14th edition)

Author: JRS Forbes
Publisher: Thomson Reuters
Reviewer: Samuel Lane

Forbes’ notes in the Preface to the 14^th Edition of Evidence Law in Queensland indicate that the 1^st Edition of the text was published nearly 40 years ago in 1986.  It is a testament to the utility of this text that it is now in its 14^th iteration.

As with previous editions, the 14^th Edition opens with a lengthy chapter on the “History and Common Law Foundations” of evidence law in Queensland.  It is evident that this chapter has been developed and revised over many editions and it provides the reader with a clear understanding of the history and development of the common law principles that underpin the Evidence Act 1977.  It is a useful and interesting introduction to the second, and most substantive, part of the text.

The second part of the text is the annotated text of the Evidence Act.  The 14^th Edition is no different to its predecessors, insofar as it is a comprehensive and thoroughly researched commentary on each section of the Evidence Act.  The reader benefits from the time and development of this text over that same forty year period.

The text now includes commentary on the new additions to the Evidence Act in sections 14Q – 14ZG, concerning qualified privilege for journalists.  At common law, journalists had no privilege that entitled them to refuse to disclose their sources in court proceedings.  The “newspaper rule”, being the practice of the courts to refuse to compel discovery of journalists’ confidential sources, was always capable of being set aside in the interests of justice.  The legislative amendments now seek to provide for a journalist’s privilege, where the doctrine of public interest privilege at common law had failed to do so. The text benefits from and draws upon authorities from other Australian jurisdictions on the subject, as Queensland was the last State to introduce such statutory protection for journalists.

New sections 21AZI – 21AZY, being the new division 4C of the Evidence Act, have been included in the text, although it is noted that those sections are yet to attract judicial consideration.  The same can be said in respect of new sections 93AB – 93 AC.  

The 14^th edition also includes commentary on Part 6A of the Evidence Act (traversing sections 103A – 103S) concerning recorded statements in respect of domestic violence offences.  Part 6A of the Evidence Act, which is complementary to the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld), creates a new exception to the hearsay rule, and is concerned with adult complainants (while section 91A is for the benefit of children and persons whose mind is impaired).   

Evidence Law in Queensland is an up-to-date and comprehensive text on evidence law in Queensland and it remains an essential addition to any practitioner’s library.