Jul 98 Legislative Council LC Paper No. LegCo Brief Reference 2. Date of First Reading 3. 15 July 1998.
Hearsay is a statement made otherwise than by a person giving oral evidence in legal proceedings.
At common law, a hearsay assertion is inadmissible as evidence of any fact asserted. This common law rule against hearsay was based on the view that such evidence is unsafe and unsatisfactory since the maker of a hearsay assertion would not have been bound by a solemn declaration to tell the truth, nor would the jury have the benefit of seeing the witness and observing his or her demeanour in order to assess the reliability of the evidence. Exceptions to the rule against hearsay have evolved from cases where judicial experience demonstrated that evidence was sound despite its hearsay nature, and where the circumstances necessitated reliance on a source that might otherwise be excluded. Until 1969 the hearsay rule in civil proceedings in Hong Kong was governed by the common law, with the addition of several statutory exceptions based upon English legislation. However, it preserves certain long established rules governing admissibility of hearsay evidence formerly admissible at common law and retains the existing case law on those exceptions.