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The Expert and the Hearsay Rule: Recent Developments and Proposals for Updating the Evidence Act

Jeffrey Pinsler SC

(2022) 34 SAcLJ 75

Abstract:
The case law raises controversy about the application of the hearsay rule to factual information relied upon by the expert witness in reaching his opinion. In a recent case, three judges of the Singapore International Commercial Court disagreed on this very issue. The purpose of this article is to examine the rules of evidence in this area (including the positions taken in various cases decided at home and abroad) and to explain their operation. Proposals for the reform of the Evidence Act (Cap 97, 1997 Rev Ed) will be made in the interest of clarifying the law.