The Senior District Judge has asked us to remind advocates making applications for the court to receive evidence via live link from witnesses based abroad that the judges at Westminster are bound by decisions of the higher courts, such as R v. Kadir [2022] EWCA Crim 1244; [2023] 1 W.L.R. 532. In Kadir, the Court of Appeal considers the power to give a live link direction for a witness to give evidence from abroad, via WhatsApp at §§39-49. The Court emphasises the need for early consideration to be given to whether the foreign state concerned has any objection (§§33-36) and the need to comply with the relevant statutory provisions and Criminal Procedure Rules (§§46-49).
Applications for evidence to be received over live link ought to be made with those and other relevant principles in mind.
