Prosecution Disclosure of Unused Material

The prosecution duty of disclosure in criminal cases

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Prosecution Disclosure of Unused Material

“An efficient and properly conducted system of disclosure in criminal cases is fundamental to a fair system of criminal justice.”

On this page:

What is disclosure of Unused Material?
Why is disclosure of Unused Material important?
Where can the law on disclosure be found?
What is the prosecution duty of disclosure?
When must prosecution disclosure take place?
What ‘material’ do the prosecution need to disclose?
Collection of material during the criminal investigation process
The duty to retain and record relevant material
The complexities of digital data
Third Party Disclosure
Prosecution review of Unused Material
Sensitive material and Public Interest Immunity (PII) Applications
Disclosure failure by the prosecution
Next page - Defence Disclosure >>

What is disclosure of Unused Material?

Evidence used to prosecute

Defendants facing criminal charges are entitled to know the evidence supporting them as well as the evidence against them.

The evidence against them (the prosecution case) is the material which the prosecution decide to rely upon to prove the case at trial. This must be served on the defence so that they know the charges they face and what evidence is relied upon to support those charges.

Read more here about the prosecution in the magistrates’ court and Crown Court.

Evidence not used to prosecute

Any material which the prosecution do not rely upon is the unused material.

Where this may be support the defence case or undermine the prosecution case, there is a duty to disclose it to the defence, in order that they may use it at trial.

The term ‘disclosure’ is often used in criminal cases to refer to this unused material.

Defence disclosure

There are also certain duties of disclosure on the defence. Defendants are required in certain circumstances to notify the prosecution of what their defence to a charge is, as well as to notify the prosecution of those witnesses they intend to rely upon at trial. These defence duties are set out on the next page, but to understand them in context it is worth reading this page first.