The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Proof of convictions and acquittals

71.—(1) Where in any criminal proceedings the fact that a person has in the United Kingdom been convicted or acquitted of an offence otherwise than by a Service court is admissible in evidence, it may be proved by producing a certificate of conviction or, as the case may be, of acquittal relating to that offence, and proving that the person named in the certificate as having been convicted or acquitted of the offence is the person whose conviction or acquittal of the offence is to be proved.

(2) For the purposes of this Article a certificate of conviction or of acquittal—

(a) shall, as regards a conviction or acquittal on indictment, consist of a certificate, signed by the clerk of the court where the conviction or acquittal took place, giving the substance and effect (omitting the formal parts) of the indictment and of the conviction or acquittal; and

(b) shall, as regards a conviction or acquittal on a summary trial, consist of a copy of the conviction or of the dismissal of the information, signed by the clerk of the court where the conviction or acquittal took place or by the clerk of the court, if any, to which a memorandum of the conviction or acquittal was sent;

and a document purporting to be a duly signed certificate of conviction or acquittal under this Article shall be taken to be such a certificate unless the contrary is proved.

(3) References in this Article to the clerk of a court include references to any other person having the custody of the court record.

(4) The method of proving a conviction or acquittal authorised by this Article shall be in addition to and not to the exclusion of any other authorised manner of proving a conviction or acquittal.