Abstract

In A Philosophy of Evidence Law, Ho Hock Lai squarely confronts questions about the justification for the Anglo-American approach to the law of evidence, with all of its technicality and painstaking distinctions. Ho attempts to understand the justification for the rules of evidence from the viewpoint of a fact-finder – one who is morally responsible for the decision made in an individual case. This is a scholarly, well-researched and thought provoking work, providing an excellent introduction to the theoretical underpinnings of evidence law. The strength of Ho's approach is that issues of fairness must be addressed first, before issues of social policy come into play. The result otherwise would be a criminal justice system that fails to meet the test of moral justification