English Law of Evidence: Adversarial or Inquisitorial System?
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This study required to identify as to which system of trial does the English law of evidence resembles, after the changes introduced to the system by the Government since 1994. In this study, the adversarial and inquisitorial system will be discussed in light of the English legal system.
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Running head: LAW OF EVIDENCE Law of Evidence Name of the Student Name of the University Author Note
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1LAW OF EVIDENCE The successive government since the year 1994 has made several changes in the law of evidence in England and Wales. The English legal system has been established based on the certain subject matter heard or decided in previous cases. During the rule of King Henry II, new national laws replaced many customary laws. The judges working in a common legal system have the authority to interpret the laws but precedent binds them. Following the European Communities Act, 1972, the Parliament was declared to the only body having the right of enacting a new law in the English legal system1. The Government has introduced several changes, gradually, in the English legal system. Mostly, the English law of evidence has followed the adversarial system since its beginning. However, there have been various incidents where the inquisitorial system was followed to decide a case. Earlier the English law of evidence was based on an adversarial system of law where the judges used to give the decision of a case based on the report or findings of the investigation made by the parties and respective lawyers of the case2. Later on, the English legal system adopted the inquisitorial system of law where the one or more judges decided the case on their own, without any juries. In such cases, the judges tried to inquire into the case and find the truth.Therefore, this studyrequiredto identifyas towhich system of trial does the English law of evidence resembles, after the changes introduced to the system by the Government since 1994. In this study, the adversarial and inquisitorial system will be discussed in light of the English legal system. This study will critically analyse whether the English law of Evidence resembles a trueadversarialorinquisitorialsystemafterthechangesadoptedbythesuccessive governments since 1994. As per Lynch, the word adversary means an opponent of a person in a dispute, contest or conflict3. The adversarial legal system can also be defined in the same context. In the 1European Communities Act, 1972 2Kim, Chulyoung. "Partisan advocates."Bulletin of Economic Research66.4 (2014): 313-332. 3Lynch, Gerard E. "Our administrative system of criminal justice."Fordham L. Rev.83 (2014): 1673.
2LAW OF EVIDENCE adversarial legal system, the parties of the case are represented by their respective lawyers to opposing the position of the other party, argue, and debate their case. The role of judges in this system is to uphold the principles of fairness, equality, and equity to maintain their neutral position while giving his judgment. The main principle of the adversarial legal system is that it places a distance between the investigation and the person to decide the outcome. Under the adversarial system, the parties are empowered to be in control of their cases because the parties are always placed in a better position to present their cases as opposed to the judge. In this system, the prosecution against the defendant brings an accusation of certain crime. The prosecution tries to prove the defendant guilty before the judge or the jury. The lawyers representing the respective parties try to argue their points to prove what the defendant did or did not do. Witnesses are called upon before the judge and the jury and they may ask a question to the parties to clarify and not to investigate4. Once the examination of witnesses is finished by the prosecution as well as by the defenceattorney, the juries and the judges will come to a decision. The prosecution must prove that the defendant is guilty beyond the reasonable doubt while presenting their points of argument. If the judges and the juries have a doubt, which they consider to be reasonable, they will consider the defendant to be not guilty. The lawyers are given the maximum liberty to identify, analyse, present, and challenge the evidence to find the truth. The judicial system in the English law countries is organized in such a way that the Courts interpret, uphold and apply the law in the country and the sovereign state. Most of the common law countries, if not all, have an adversarial system. Adversarial system has traced its heritage to the English common law system.As per Gillespie (2013), the adversarial system is followed in the English law of evidence5. As per the decision of the 4McElrea,F."Restorativejusticeasaproceduralrevolution:somelessonsfromtheadversary system."Civilizing Criminal Justice: An International Restorative Agenda for Penal Reform(2013): 81. 5Gillespie, Alisdair.The English legal system. Oxford University Press, 2013.
3LAW OF EVIDENCE case,Jones v National Coal Board[1957] 2 QB 55, the adversarial approach to the law of evidence enables the judge to ask a question but limits him from becoming an investigator6. It requires that the judges concentrate on ensuring the compliance of procedural rules by both parties while presenting their case. Additionally, under theCivil Procedure Rules, which came into existence in 1999, the Court has the power to ensure that the matter of dispute between the parties of the case is effectively and efficiently resolved in accordance to the CivilProcedureRules7.TheCourtshavethepowertocasemanagement.TheCivil Procedure Ruleshave the objective to enable the Court to deal with the cases at proportionate costs. The Courts are responsible for excluding the superfluous evidence in order to do so. It has been found in several cases that English law of Evidence has regarded that the parties play an important role in establishing and developing the claim for a remedy. They are majorly responsible for the presentation of the facts and the legal issues to be determined by the Court. In this framework, the parties have the freedom to bargain for their settlements, with or without the availability of the court procedure. They have the authority to withdraw the case at any time. In the English law of evidence, the Court remains neutral while representing the public interest in resolving the disputes. The judges regulate the way that the disputant must proceed with if they are willing to obtain the decision in this action. In the case ofPiro v. W. Foster & Co.(1943) 68 C.L.R 313 Ltd the Court applied the precedent of the House of Lords to decide the dispute8. It has been observed that while deciding a case based on precedent, the English law of evidence has faced certain conflicts. For example, the decision of the Court inBourke v Butterfield & Lewis Ltd(1926) 38 C.L.R. 3549was in conflict with the decision of the caseCaswell v. Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries Ltd given by the House of Lords.10Despite all the fact, the English law of evidence has 6Jones v National Coal Board [1957] 2 QB 55 7Civil Procedure Rules 1999 8Piro v. W. Foster & Co. (1943) 68 C.L.R 313 Ltd 9Bourke v Butterfield & Lewis Ltd (1926) 38 C.L.R. 354 10Caswell v. Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries Ltd
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4LAW OF EVIDENCE consistently relied on the decision of the higher Courts, on the basis that such decision shall be most appropriate and acceptable to decide a case. In accordance to the adversarial system, it has been widely accepted in the English Courts that the guilty people also have the right to present their side. The English law of evidence govern the way the cases are managed and provides the Courts with explicit power to manage the preparation of cases. The Courts in England and Wales assume that the most efficient way to unearth the truth is to follow the adversarial system. The courts rely on the assumption that the truth shall prevail if the two opposing parties are given with the opportunity to fairly argue their point of the case. The main point for following the adversarial system in the English courts is the fact that witnesses will appear in person in the Court to present their oral evidence. The English law of evidence has redefined the capability of the parties to control and proceed with the progress of their own case. The English law of evidence does not protect the innocent from the possibilities of an unjustified conviction. The continuous use of the adversary system in the English law of evidence is supported by the fact that the judges are to remain neutral in this system. InEvitts v Lucey (1985) the Court has found that the English law of evidence relies on the advocacy of both sides of a case for the promotion of the ultimate objective to set free the innocent and convict the guilty11. The courts have considered the trial of a case to be a contest between the two equally situated contestants, both of which are striving to prevail. The judges have played a limited role to develop the evidence in England and Wales than the witnesses. In Platt [1981] the Crown Court, supporting the adversary system, concluded that the actual admissibility of an evidence will be determined by the jury along with the cross-examination of the witnesses and the other expert evidence produced by an opposing party. Further in Gilfoyle (No 2) [2001] 2 Cr App R 5 (57)12the Court, reiterating the decision of the case,Davie v Edinburgh 11Evitts v Lucey (1985) 12Gilfoyle (No 2) [2001] 2 Cr App R 5 (57)
5LAW OF EVIDENCE Magistrates21953 SC 34, stated that the judge or jury should depend on the argument of the advocates of both parties to prove evidence and provide judgment.13InFrye v United States, the Court of Appeal in the District of Columbia has established that the Court is not bound by the expert opinion, rather it shall apply the knowledge and opinion of the judges and the juries to admit the expert opinions. After the changes introduced by the successive government since 1994, the English law of evidence has still relied on the adversarial system. In theYouth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act1999, the law has required that expert evidence is also admissible for deciding a case, which means that the Court should carry on the adversary system to examine the witness as an evidence14. Even in the modern cases have accepted the approach, as in the case ofLuttrell[2002]EWCACrim1344,theAppellateCourthasacceptedthatcross- examination should be conducted by the representatives of both the parties to consider an expert opinion to be admissible15. The system which is followed by the English adversarial procedure adheres to the equity of the parties. According to Feeley (2017), the English law of evidence has long accepted that the adversarial system is best for gathering evidence and its trial16. It can be seen from observing the various case studies that the judges have to play an important role in pre-trial assessment or investigation of the facts of a case. Judges are responsible for making the decision about whether the particular issues are legally proper. However, they are not responsible for deciding what evidence should be produced and which witnesses will be called upon. This responsibility is solely given to the lawyers. There is no such example that the judges of an EnglishlawCourtareactivelyinteractingwiththewitnesses.Thepartiesandtheir 13Davie v Edinburgh Magistrates 21953 SC 34 14Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 15Luttrell [2002] EWCA Crim 1344 16Feeley, MalcolmM. "The adversary system."Crime, Law, and Society. Routledge, 2017. 105-118.
6LAW OF EVIDENCE representatives determine the significant issue and the evidence required to prove or disprove them. It is one of the significance of the English law of evidence that the judges come to decision by the live oral testimony, which is followed only in the adversary system. The English law courts have considered that the parties are competent witness by themselves in their own cases. Following the adversary system, the English law of evidence has given a greater emphasis on the oral argument. The direct evidence is only admissible in the English Court of law. Additionally, there have been no incidents of an independent evaluation of the evidence, which are collected through an investigation by an independent agency. In addition to it, section 144 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 has provided the opportunity for plea bargaining17. The concept of plea bargaining only prevails in the adversarial system, which proves that English law of evidence resembles the adversarial system only irrespective of the changes made by the government. Spencer (2016), contradicted the idea that English law of evidence resembles the adversarial system18. He has found that English rule is deemed to be arbitrary in certain situations.He has argued thatcross-examination of young and vulnerable childrenshould happen at the time of achieving the best evidence.In the absence of the best advocate practice, the evidence collected from the vulnerable groups may be manipulated19.The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice has found that a huge number of common law countries have removed their connection with the adversarial system and adopted the inquisitorial system of justice. The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice has considered after an investigation that adversarial system is the root cause of miscarriage of justice in the England and Walesbecause of the practice of examining the witness and interviewing the 17Sentencingcouncil.Org.Uk,2018,https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Reduction-in- Sentence-for-Guilty-plea-Definitive-Guide_FINAL_WEB.pdf. Accessed 21 Nov 2018. 18Spencer, John R. "Adversarial vs inquisitorial systems: is there still such a difference?."The International Journal of Human Rights20.5 (2016): 601-616. 19Bowden, Phoebe, Terese Henning, and David Plater. "Balancing fairness to victims, society, and defendants in the cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses: An impossible triangulation."Melb. UL Rev.37 (2013): 539.
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7LAW OF EVIDENCE victims. It has been argued by the Ministry of Justice that the practitioners of the adversarial system should justify in the Courts the reason for a departure from the good practice of cross- examination.In addition, it needs to be pointed out thetribunals of the UKdo not adopt adversarial or inquisitorial approach strictly. They seem to adopt an approach, which is user- friendly. However, it is evident that the tribunals have the tendency to step beyond its boundaries of judicial role and assists the parties to prepare their case or collect evidence. This phenomenon is a diversion from the traditional adversarial system. It is evident that Special Educational Needs Tribunal do not proceed strictly as per the adversarial basis, and has a responsibility to act as per the inquisitorial system when it is required, as they do not rely on the evidences produced by the parties.Therefore, it can be held that the tribunals indulge more in inquisitorial approach, yet cannot reject the adversarial approach entirely. They use the adversarial process with a dominant touch of inquisitorial system. However, it has been argued that the principle of cross-examination is a major disadvantage of the adversarial system, following which the English legal system has adopted the inquisitorial system. As argued by Gleeson CJ in the famous case of Doggett v the Queen20, the trial system in the adversarial process is a contest between the prosecutor and the accused and the intervention by the judges are minimal.As argued by Gunn and Mevis (2018),the evidence of the witnesses are often manipulated, suppressed, destroyed or debarred at the time of cross-examination by the representatives of the parties. The basic tradition is that one side of the parties must gain victory because of the cross-examination. The witness lies as much as possible as lies are more likely to be produced than the truth. It was stated by Sutherland, J, in the case ofFulton Bank v Stafford1829, that a witness, when called for cross-examination, may be examined for not only the point for which he was called 20Doggett v. The Queen, [2001] 208 CLR 343, 346 (High Court of Australia, 2001)
8LAW OF EVIDENCE but also for any material connected to the issue. This may sometime lead the witness to be embarrassed in the Court. Section 41 of theYouth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999provides that no evidence regarding the history of the accused should be adduced in the Court except with its permission21. It has been observed in certain cases that while at the time of the investigation, the history of the defendants is dragged in the cross-examination. Further, it has been observed that the pre-trial examination leads to inappropriate questioning, which is a major drawback of the adversarial system. As argued by Judge Pigot, intermediaries have an important role andSection 29of the YJCEA 1999 permits the full replacement of the advocatebyintermediariesifappropriate,astheycanconstructtheentireargument. Intermediariesare not to be entrusted with their role, as they are not properly trained to collect evidence.The questioning made about the history of the complainant is another drawback of the adversarial system. The past record of the complainant and the accused must not be adduced as an evidence unless it is leading to an evidence associating with the behaviour of the parties in the current case. The Heilbronn Committee argued that this practice in the adversarial system should be challenged22. Following these issues, the adversarial system has gradually left its tracein the English legal system.Since 1994, several reforms have been introduced by the successive Governments, which encouraged the English law countries to considerthebenefits of adopting the inquisitorial system, and developing and adopting the system in it. An inquisitorial system includes a preliminary inquiry conducted by the investigating Magistrate for finding the truth, unlike the adversarial system. In the viewpoint of Kim, Inquisitorial system, in the contrast with the adversarial system, empowers the judge to play 21Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 22The Heilbron Report
9LAW OF EVIDENCE an active role to prepare evidence and question the witness to find the truth23.In an adversarial system, the judges’ role is to maintain a balance between the parties without involving himself in the disputation24. While in the inquisitorial system of justice, the judges part serious part in the investigation procedure as well, along with holding an impartial ground. The inquisitorial system is more adept at finding out and inquiring the facts that are relevant to the case and ensuring that they are taken into consideration. TheLord Chief Justice has opined that an inquisitorial system of justice, mainly a judge-led system is a better and improved way of conducting civil litigations, where the parties to the suit are unrepresented. In a quest of years of British legal system, which has been based on the adversarial system,Lord Thomashas directed the system to consider and come out with unconventional perspective pertaining to the system in which justice is delivered in an era of rigor and austerity. The senior judges of England and Wales have opined for a critical review as to whether the bulk of criminal cases need to be addressed to the crown court; a change which is required to restrict the right to trial by jury significantly25. Lord Thomas, however, declined to support any type of system, be it adversarial or inquisitorial, but demanded that a fundamental review or assessment is required in response to the changes within the legal system brought in by the governments over the years.Lord Thomasargued that the conventional procedure to conduct suits and cases is not appropriate for a dispute, which involves a custody battle of a child where the parents of the child as ‘adversaries' are supposed to raise the matters that may have caused them emotional stress. While in an inquisitorial system, it is the lawyer or the court officer who raises the issues in question to the court of law. An inquisitorial system may be preferred over adversarial for 23Kim, Chulyoung. "Adversarial and inquisitorial procedures with information acquisition."The Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization30.4 (2013): 767-803. 24RvWhithorn(1983) 152 CLR 657 25Owen Bowcott, 'Inquisitorial System May Be Better For Family And Civil Cases, Says Top Judge' (the Guardian,2018)<https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/mar/04/inquisitorial-system-family-civil-cases- judge-lord-thomas> accessed 21 November 2018.
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10LAW OF EVIDENCE unrepresented litigants for receiving a secure and fair trial within limited and reduced resources. The change would require a greater involvement of the judges to inquire in the cases and the evidence, which would be produced before the court26. Some advocates would see the changes as a complete alien to the traditional adversarial system. AsarguedbyBagaricandDimpoulos,inquisitorialsystemissuperiortothe adversarial system as the essence of it is in the fundamental ethics of telling the truth. As per their argument, when a person has committed an offense for which he has been charged, there is no moral difference as to when he gives false witness in the court or when he pleads innocence. In either way, it infringes theprinciple of moralityof speaking the truth. They concluded their argument with the notion that inquisitorial system would be a better means for delivering justice as it the judges who would be gathering evidence and not the parties as the latter involves bias and preconceived notion. It is pointed out that the inquisitorial system is far more strong in terms of morality as its primary objective is to seek the truth. The inquisitorial system supports the principle laid down under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which strives to protect the right of individuals to receive a fair trial. The superiority and the unique nature of the inquisitorial system makes it possible. The Coroner's Courtof the United Kingdom is inquisitorial in nature and it has its impact on the adversarial system. The coroner holds a responsibility to conduct a complete and fair investigation without the intervention of any other authority. This creates a sense of discrimination among the other authorities, which are bound by the norms of the adversarial system27.The inquisitorial nature of the coroner's court makes it unique. The coroner needs to 26Owen Bowcott, 'Inquisitorial System May Be Better For Family And Civil Cases, Says Top Judge' (the Guardian,2018)<https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/mar/04/inquisitorial-system-family-civil-cases- judge-lord-thomas> accessed 21 November 2018. 27'GuideToCoronerServicesAndCoronerInvestigations–AShortGuide'(GOV.UK,2018) <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-coroner-services-and-coroner-investigations-a-short- guide> accessed 26 November 2018.
11LAW OF EVIDENCE answer the following four questions to carry out his duty: who was deceased, when and where did they die, how did they die, lastly how the deceased came by their death. These four corners of investigation help the coroner reach a conclusion. The fact that the decision of the coroner is final without entertaining any intrusion from other authority or department makes the coroner's court an example of the inquisitorial system. Further research would be neededto ascertain whether the inquisitorial system would need more judges or a new panel of junior judges. Presently, the crown court is involved with a range of criminal proceedings, from highly serious to less serious cases where the severity of the injury and compensation involved is low. In such situation, inquisitorial system of justice would thrive the best. The past rejected policies of the government, which had proposed for an intermediate court between the Magistrate and the Crown Court, would lower the burden of the crown court can be considered now through the advent of inquisitorial system28. Presently, where the Crown court is heavily burdened while the Magistrate has a lesser volume of work, it is time to consider the inquisitorial system of justice. It is time to consider the rejected proposal due to the financial constraint in which the system is stuck29. Therefore, from the above analysis, it can be concluded that the adversarial system is followed in the English law of evidence to determine cases. The role of judges in limitation of their active part in the investigation, the opportunity of plea bargaining, examination of a witness before the court, the part of the prosecution to prove the defendant guilty in various cases are the facts that support that adversarial system is only followed in the English system of law. The base of the English legal system is to find the truth by the decision of the judges 28'ExpertEvidenceInCriminalProceedings|LawCommission'(Lawcom.gov.uk,2018) <https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/expert-evidence-in-criminal-proceedings/> accessed 21 November 2018. 29Owen Bowcott, 'Inquisitorial System May Be Better For Family And Civil Cases, Says Top Judge' (the Guardian,2018)<https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/mar/04/inquisitorial-system-family-civil-cases- judge-lord-thomas> accessed 21 November 2018.
12LAW OF EVIDENCE and juries to hold the defendant guilty or not guilty, which can only be achieved through the adversarial system. Observing the history of common law system, it has been found that through the arguments of opposite parties, the best and crucial evidence was found. The judges and the jury made their decision only after being convinced by the evidence adduced by the parties. They are in the best position to decide a case in the adversarial system as they do not have to investigate the facts of a case in this system. The passive role of the judges has led them to be impartial on advising the jury on the matter of law. Studying various cases it can be observed that the adversarial system is only followed in the English legal system despite of the changes brought by the Governments in 1994.
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13LAW OF EVIDENCE References: JOURNALS Bowcott O, 'Inquisitorial System May Be Better For Family And Civil Cases, Says Top Judge' (the Guardian, 2018) <https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/mar/04/inquisitorial- system-family-civil-cases-judge-lord-thomas> accessed 21 November 2018 Bowden, Phoebe, Terese Henning, and David Plater. "Balancing fairness to victims, society, anddefendantsinthecross-examinationofvulnerablewitnesses:Animpossible triangulation."Melb. UL Rev.37 (2013): 539. 'Expert EvidenceIn CriminalProceedings| LawCommission' (Lawcom.gov.uk, 2018) <https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/expert-evidence-in-criminal-proceedings/> accessed 21 November 2018 Feeley, MalcolmM. "The adversary system."Crime, Law and Society. Routledge, 2017. 105- 118. Kim,Chulyoung."Adversarialandinquisitorialprocedureswithinformation acquisition."The Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization30.4 (2013): 767-803. Kim, Chulyoung. "Partisan advocates."Bulletin of Economic Research66.4 (2014): 313-332. Luttrell [2002] EWCA Crim 1344 Lynch, Gerard E. "Our administrative system of criminal justice."Fordham L. Rev.83 (2014): 1673. McElrea, F. "Restorative justice as a procedural revolution: some lessons from the adversary system."CivilizingCriminalJustice:AnInternationalRestorativeAgendaforPenal Reform(2013): 81.
14LAW OF EVIDENCE Owen Bowcott, 'Inquisitorial System May Be Better For Family And Civil Cases, Says Top Judge' (the Guardian, 2018) <https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/mar/04/inquisitorial- system-family-civil-cases-judge-lord-thomas> accessed 21 November 2018. Owen Bowcott, 'Inquisitorial System May Be Better For Family And Civil Cases, Says Top Judge' (the Guardian, 2018) <https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/mar/04/inquisitorial- system-family-civil-cases-judge-lord-thomas> accessed 21 November 2018. Owen Bowcott, 'Inquisitorial System May Be Better For Family And Civil Cases, Says Top Judge' (the Guardian, 2018) <https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/mar/04/inquisitorial- system-family-civil-cases-judge-lord-thomas> accessed 21 November 2018. Spencer, John R. "Adversarial vs inquisitorial systems: is there still such a difference?."The International Journal of Human Rights20.5 (2016): 601-616. CASES Bourke v Butterfield & Lewis Ltd (1926) 38 C.L.R. 354 Caswell v. Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries Ltd [1940] AC 152 Davie v Edinburgh Magistrates 21953 SC 34 Doggett v. The Queen, [2001] 208 CLR 343, 346 (High Court of Australia, 2001) Evitts v Lucey (1985) Gilfoyle (No 2) [2001] 2 Cr App R 5 (57) Jones v National Coal Board [1957] 2 QB 55 Piro v. W. Foster & Co. (1943) 68 C.L.R 313 Ltd
15LAW OF EVIDENCE RvWhithorn(1983) 152 CLR 657 WEBSITES 'Guide To Coroner Services And Coroner Investigations – A Short Guide' (GOV.UK, 2018) <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-coroner-services-and-coroner- investigations-a-short-guide> accessed 26 November 2018 Sentencingcouncil.Org.Uk,2018, https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Reduction-in-Sentence-for-Guilty- plea-Definitive-Guide_FINAL_WEB.pdf. Accessed 21 Nov 2018. LEGISLATIONS Civil Procedure Rules 1999 Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 BOOKS Gillespie, Alisdair.The English legal system. Oxford University Press, 2013. Gunn, J., & Mevis, P. (2018). Adversarial Versus InquisitorialSystemsof Trial and Investigation in Criminal.Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology in Europe: A Cross-Border Study Guide, 1. REPORT The Heilbron Report