Innocent but not allowed to prove it. Slim Dinsdale & Fred Philpott address a statutory fiction in criminal law
In brief
- In the context of criminal proceedings concerning food law the High Court has held that if legislation deems a state of affairs leading to a conviction the defendant cannot adduce evidence to the contrary.
The case involved use by dates. The legislation stated that if a food product was on sale after the date it was ‘deemed to be unsafe’. There was evidence that the food products were not unsafe (the double negative is appropriate). That was ruled inadmissible and the criminal conviction was upheld.
This cannot be right
To make deeming provisions in criminal law can sometimes be justified. Often the factual situation or intention is known only to the defendant so it is right to deem a certain situation or intention from other facts but permit the defendant to show (rebut) that this situation or intention is not correct. The law which places the burden of proof of certain facts on the defendant
