# The Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Rule 32.2: Evidence of witnesses—general rule

Extent: E+W

(1) The general rule is that any fact which needs to be proved by the evidence of witnesses is to be proved—
(a) at trial, by their oral evidence given in public; and
(b) at any other hearing, by their evidence in writing.
(2) This is subject—
(a) to any provision to the contrary contained in these Rules or elsewhere; or
(b) to any order of the court.
(3) The court may give directions—
(a) identifying or limiting the issues to which factual evidence may be directed;
(b) identifying the witnesses who may be called or whose evidence may be read; or
(c) limiting the length or format of witness statements.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/3132/rule/32.2 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/civil-procedure-rules-1998/rule-32.2
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.