THOUGHTS FROM ACROSS THE WATER ON HEARSAY AND CONFRONTATION

This article draws on the history of the hearsay rule, and on recent d ecisions of the European Court Of Human Rights, to argue that the righ t to confrontation should be recognised as a basic principle of the la w of evidence, and that aspects of the Law Commission's proposals for reform of the hearsay rule, and of the Home Office's proposals for res trictions on the right of cross-examination, are therefore unsatisfact ory.