• The rule against hearsay originated as a common law rule which provides that a statement made out of court may not be tendered in evidence as proof of its contents.

• The rule applies to out of court statements of witnesses who are testifying as well as of those who are not called as witnesses.

• Statements include oral and written statements and gestures; documents are anything in which information of any description is recorded.

• The rule applies equally to defence and prosecution.

• Different rules apply in civil and criminal cases.

• In criminal proceedings the rule still exists but with a large number of statutory and common law exceptions.

• In criminal proceedings hearsay is admissible i) if any of the statutory provisions in the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) 2003 allow it, or ii) under the common law provisions preserved under CJA 2003, or iii) if all the parties agree, or iv) under the statutory discretion conferred on the court, namely that it is satisfied it is in the interests of justice for it to be admissible.

• In criminal law no new exceptions can be made under the common law.

• In civil proceedings the rule has been abolished by statute, Civil Evidence Act (CEA) 1995.

• The law distinguishes between first-hand and multiple hearsay.