Whatever the nature of the information that may help resolves the dispute, we cannot call it “evidence” at this stage-only this information has been form it from formally admitted evidence.
We may broadly define evidence as any information that a court has formally admitted in civil or criminal proceedings, or at administrative or quasi-judicial hearings.
There is a wide variety of information that we may consider and rely on when we attempt to resolve disputes before the start of formal civil or criminal court proceedings. This also applies to proceeding before other tribunals, such as arbitration or workplace disciplinary hearings. This information includes:
<Written or computer-printed documents such as letters, memoranda, and reports;
<Oral or written statements;
<The contents of electronic mail (email)exchanges;
<The observations of eyewitnesses to an incident;
<The nature and characteristics of certain physical objects
Whatever the nature of the information that may help resolves the dispute, we cannot call it "evidence" at this stage-only this information has been form it from formally admitted evidence. The courts may nevertheless rely on this evidentiary ally admitted into court can we label it evidence. Therefore, during the process of attempting to have information admitted by a court, this information is at most potential evidence. Note, however, that the general practice is to call such information "evidence" even at the pre-admission stage. This can be potentially confusing for newcomers to the field.
To complete matters, the courts have created a category of information that is used during trial proceedings but is not formally admitted by the court. The courts have called this type of information evidentiary material to distinguish it from formally admitted evidence. The courts may nevertheless rely on this evidentiary material in coming to their decision. Examples of evidentiary material include:
<the contents of a criminal accused's explanation of a plea statement made in terms of section 115 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977;
<Presumptions;
<Formal admission made in criminal proceedings;
<Where the court takes Judicial notice of something.
For the sake of convenience, we refer to both properly admitted evidence and evidentiary material jointly as probative material.
The law of evidence, also called "rules" of evidence, governs:
<first, what requirements we must meet and what steps we must follow to render this information admissible in court as evidence or evidentiary material;
<second, how the courts must evaluate admitted evidence to come to a decision.
As we discuss below, the common law rules of evidence must apply to all types of proceedings. These include criminal proceedings, civil proceedings, administrative hearings and labour dispute resolution, for example in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). These rules of evidence are also generally adhered to as guidelines in informal proceedings, such as workplace disciplinary hearings and labour dispute resolutions, for example in the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration(CCMA). Thee rules of evidence are also generally adhered to as guidelines in informal proceedings, such as workplace disciplinary hearings. Various statutes have also confirmed, supplemented and, in some cases, modified the common law rules of evidence. Examples here include the:
<Criminal Procedure Act, 1977;
<Civil Proceedings Evidence Act 25 of 1965;
<Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002;
Also confirmed, supplemented and, in some cases, modified the common law rules of evidence. Examples here include the:
<Criminal Procedure Act, 1977
<Civil Proceedings Evidence Act 25 of 1965
<Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
<Law of Evidence Amendment Act 45 of 1988 ("Hearsay Amendment Act")
<Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Finally, the correct use of terminology will assist to avoid confusion. As mentioned above, prior to its admission by a court or tribunal, we refer to information of whatever nature as information or potential evidence rather than evidence. Further examples of the correct use of terminology are as follows:
<Evidence admitted under oath is called testimony
<Once evidence is admitted, the court evaluates it to establish its weight
<Probative force or probative value means the potential the information has to help provide an issue in order to establish relevance before the information is admitted. Alternatively, it can mean the potential the admitted evidence has to tilt the probabilities in favour of one party to the litigation during the process of evaluating the evidence.
Excerpt from
A Bellengere, R Palmer, C theophilopoulous, B whitche, L Roberts, N Melvile, E Picarra, T Illsley, M Nkutha, B Naude, A Van der Merwe, S Reddy, The Law of Evidence in South Africa (2013)3,4
Questions
What function does the law of evidence fulfil, that is supported by the concepts of admissibility?
What statutes confirm, supplement, and in some cases modify the Common Law rules of evidence?
What is the synonym for the concept of admissibility used in the context of the law of evidence?
What is the evidence?
When can information be labelled as evidence?
What do the "rules" of evidence govern?
What is the concept(s) referred to when the potential of information is used to establish its relevance before such information is admitted as evidence?
Is evidence considered admissible once admitted and evaluated by the courts?
Evidentiary material falls under a category of its own, what distinguishes it from formally admitted evidence and when is it used during legal proceedings?
What do the courts do after having admitted information as evidence?
Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers
Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.
Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS
Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?
Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.
We write plagiarism Free Content
Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.
Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.
