March 4, 2026
Laura Hoyano has published an article in Counsel Magazine critiquing the Law Commission’s proposals for replacing the current model governing the admissibility of previous sexual behaviour evidence in sexual offence trials (Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999).
She notes that the Law Commission’s example of how its preferred model would work (without using the conventional evidence admissibility test balancing probative value against prejudicial effect) is legally incoherent and ignores the elements of the rape offence and relevant rules of evidence in their worked example.
This follows on from a wider, more detailed, analysis of s. 41 reform proposals written by Laura Hoyano and HH Peter Rook KC in Rook & Ward on Sexual Offences Law & Practice (7th ed., 2025) paras. 26.256 – 26.176.
Read the full article in Counsel Magazine here