Amid all the turmoil arising from the acrimonious split from his former girlfriend Mel Gibson can at least find comfort in the fact that the ugly conversations apparently recorded by his ex occurred in California. In that jurisdiction if the circumstances  reasonably indicate an expectation of confidentiality it is illegal to secretly record a conversation and there might be serious consequences for having made the recordings. In Canada it is legal to record one’s own  without the consent of the other party as long as the person doing so is not acting as an agent of the state, in which case a warrant is required.

The question of admissablity in family court is determined by the overrarching principle which governs family law in most jurisdictions, namely the best interests of the children.