EVIDENCE

1. General Rules

1. Subject to the provisions of these Rules and of any enactment relating to evidence, any fact required to be proved at the trial of any action begun by writ by the evidence of witnesses shall be proved by the examination of the witnesses orally and in open court.

2. (1) The Court may, at or before the trial of an action begun by writ, order that the affidavit of any witness may be read at the trial if in the circumstances of the case it thinks it reasonable so to order.

(2) An order under paragraph (1) may be made on such terms as to the filing and giving of copies of the affidavits and as to the production of deponents for cross-examination as the Court thinks fit but, subject to any such terms and to any subsequent order of the Court, the deponents shall not be subject to cross-examination and need not attend the trial for the purpose.

(3) In any cause or matter begun by originating summons, originating motion or petition, and on any application made by summons or motion, evidence may be given by affidavit unless in the case of any such cause , matter or application any provision of these Rules otherwise provides or the Court otherwise directs, but the Court may, on the application of any party, order the attendance for cross-examination of the person making any such affidavit, and where, after such an order has been made, the person in question does not attend, his affidavit shall not be used as evidence without the leave of the Court.

3. (1) Without prejudice to rule 2, the Court may, at or before the trial of any action, order that evidence of any particular fact shall be given at the trial in such manner as may be specified by the order.

(2) The power conferred by paragraph (1) extends in particular to ordering that evidence of any particular fact may be given at the trial-

4. The Court may, at or before the trial of any action, order that the number of medical or other expert witnesses who may be called at the trial shall be limited as specified by the order.

5. Unless, at or before the trial, the Court for special reasons otherwise orders, no plan, photograph or model shall be receivable in evidence at the trial of an action unless at least 10 days before the commencement of the trial the parties, other than the party producing it, have been given an opportunity to inspect it and to agree to the admission thereof without further proof.

6. In an action arising out of an accident on land due to a collision or apprehended collision, unless at or before the trial the Court otherwise orders, the oral expert evidence of an engineer sought to be called on account of his skill and knowledge as respects motor vehicles shall not be receivable unless a copy of a report from him containing the substance of his evidence has been made available to all parties for inspection as soon as practicable and in any event not less than 21 days before the date fixed for hearing.

7. Any order under rules 2 to 6 (including an order made on appeal) may, on sufficient cause being shown, be revoked or varied by a subsequent order of the Court made at or before the trial.

8. The foregoing rules of this Order shall apply to trials of issues or questions of fact or law, references, inquiries and assessments of damages as they apply to the trial of actions.

9. (1) No deposition taken in any cause or matter shall be received in evidence at the trial of the cause or matter unless-

(2) A party intending to use any deposition in evidence at the trial of a cause or matter must, a reasonable time before the trial, give notice of his intention to do so to the other party.

(3) A deposition purporting to be signed by the person before whom it was taken shall be receivable in evidence without proof of the signature being the signature of that person.

10. (1) Office copies of writs, records, pleadings and documents filed in the High Court shall be admissible in evidence in any cause or matter and between all parties to the same extent as the original would be admissible.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of any enactment, every document purporting to be sealed with the seal of any office or department of the Supreme Court shall be received in evidence without further proof, and any document purporting to be so sealed and to be a copy of a document filed in, or issued out of that office or department shall be deemed to be an office copy of that document without further proof unless the contrary is shown.

11. A document purporting to contain the written consent of a person to act as trustee and to bear his signature verified by some other person shall be evidence of such consent.

12. Any evidence taken at the trial of any cause or matter may be used in any subsequent proceedings in that cause or matter.

13. (1) At any stage in a cause or matter the Court may order any person to attend any proceedings in the cause or matter and produce any document, to be specified or described in the order, the production of which appears to the Court to be necessary for the purpose of that proceeding.