Relevance (law)
Relevance and admissibility

The scheme of Chapter 3 of the Act deals with admissibility of evidence. Evidence which is relevant is generally admissible, and evidence which is irrelevant is inadmissible. Evidence is relevant if it is evidence which, if accepted, could rationally affect (directly or indirectly) the assessment of the probability of a fact in issue in the proceedings. Since evidence that is relevant has the capability to affect the assessment of the probability of the existence of a fact in issue, it is "probative". This determination is known as logical relevance. Logical relevance merely requires evidence have a logical connection to the facts in issue. But neither s 55 nor s 56 of the Act requires that evidence be probative to a particular degree for it to be admissible. Evidence that is of only some, even slight, probative value will be admissible, just as it is at common law. Therefore, evidence is either relevant or it is not and if the evidence is not relevant then no further question arises about its admissibility. However, logical relevance isn't sufficient to establish the potential admissibility of the evidence and is still possible for the evidence to be inadmissible. This determination is known as "legal relevance" as opposed to logical relevance and sets a demanding test for discretionary exclusion (but one that is not obligatory) where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger that the evidence might be unfairly prejudicial. Once the legal relevance of the evidence is established, the exclusionary principles and exceptions to those principles are also to be considered.
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