In Daimler AG v Leiduck, the Court of Appeal recently reviewed what appears to have been a novel point regarding which party in civil proceedings has the burden of proving that a witness is competent to give evidence at the time of giving evidence. (1) At first instance, the judge had decided that the burden is on the party that calls the witness (in this case the defendant), as opposed to the party that challenges the competence of the witness. The defendant applied for permission to appeal aspects of the judge's ruling regarding some of the evidence ruled to be inadmissible. In considering and refusing the defendant's application, the Court of Appeal appears to have gone out of its way to confirm that the judge had been correct as a matter of principle and common sense.