The first edition of this text was published in 1992. Since then the law of evidence has undergone many significant changes, for example to the right to silence, the rules on disclosure, corroboration and the treatment of child witnesses. Despite substantial revision of the original text, the themes of the first edition are retained: to what extent is the content of the law of evidence dictated by the adversarial form of trial, and is it worth retaining? Do the rules of evidence operate in the interests of justice?