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The importance of corroboration is a unique feature of Scots criminal law. A cornerstone of Scots law, the requirement for corroborating evidence means at least two different and independent sources of evidence are required in support of each crucial fact before a defendant can be convicted of a crime. This means, for example, that an admission of guilt by the accused is insufficient evidence to convict in Scotland, because that evidence needs to be corroborated by another source. However, testimony from some experts, such as forensic medical examiners or doctors, is accepted by courts on the basis of the expert's report alone, therefore requiring no corroboration. ==History== Corroboration had, in some way, already been established by the time the earliest Institutional Writers had begun to illustrate Scots criminal law. MacKenzie described the ‘singularity’ of witnesses, and their ‘contrariety’, as insufficient proof - subsequently repeated by Hume, ‘…no one shall in any case be convicted on the testimony of a single witness’.〔BD Hume, ii p.385 (241)〕 A similar statement appears in Alison.〔AJ Alison, Principles and Practice of the Criminal Law of Scotland, 1833, p.551〕 Corroboration can also be traced to Biblical sources. The New Testament stated, ‘In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established’〔The New Testament, 2 Corinthians, 13 verse 1〕 - although it is unlikely that the requirement is based solely from the bible. Corroboration also has origins in Roman law. The Code of Justinian read, ‘We plainly order that the evidence of only one witness shall not be taken’.〔XX Concerning Witnesses, Book IV, 334 AD〕 It has been suggested that at this time, the requirement was based on the distrust of juries - however, it is suggested that it was the mistrust of judges instead, which allowed corroboration to take root.〔JH Langbein, Torture and the Law of Proof, p.6〕 Following the Cadder ruling in 2010, Lord Carloway was appointed to lead a review of the 'corroboration rule' - The Carloway Review. In this review, Lord Carloway gave the following proposal – the current requirement for corroboration in criminal cases should be abolished. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Corroboration in Scots law」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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