Part II Miscellaneous and General
Convictions, etc. as evidence in civil proceedings
C113 Conclusiveness of convictions for purposes of defamation actions.
1
In an action for libel or slander in which the question whether F1the plaintiff did or did not commit a criminal offence is relevant to an issue arising in the action, proof that, at the time when that issue falls to be determined, F1he stands convicted of that offence shall be conclusive evidence that he committed that offence; and his conviction thereof shall be admissible in evidence accordingly.
2
In any such action as aforesaid in which by virtue of this section F1 the plaintiffis proved to have been convicted of an offence, the contents of any document which is admissible as evidence of the conviction, and the contents of the information, complaint, indictment or charge-sheet on which F1he was convicted, shall, without prejudice to the reception of any other admissible evidence for the purpose of identifying the facts on which the conviction was based, be admissible in evidence for the purpose of identifying those facts.
F22A
In the case of an action for libel or slander in which there is more than one plaintiff—
a
the references in subsections (1) and (2) above to the plaintiff shall be construed as references to any of the plaintiffs, and
b
proof that any of the plaintiffs stands convicted of an offence shall be conclusive evidence that he committed that offence so far as that fact is relevant to any issue arising in relation to his cause of action or that of any other plaintiff.
3
4
5
The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply for the purposes of any action begun after the passing of this Act, whenever the cause of action arose, but shall not apply for the purposes of any action begun before the passing of this Act or any appeal or other proceedings arising out of any such action.