Prior Inconsistent Statements: Fairness, Statutory Interpretation and the Future of Adversarial Justice

Abstract

There has been much judicial activity in the field of prior inconsistent statements in Singapore. This discussion identifies two major themes in judicial attempts to make sense of the major amendments of 1976 which made prior inconsistent statements substantively admissible - the need to draw the line between legitimate statutory interpretation and judicial legislation, and the need to respond adequately to the reality that the use of prior inconsistent statements (together with other like developments) has shifted the criminal process in Singapore far beyond the traditional adversarial system which was inherited from the English common law.