- Title
- Audio-Visual and Cyber Evidence in the Context of Criminal Law
- Creator
- Madzika, Koshesayi
- Subject
- Electronic evidence -- Law and legislation -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2020
- Date
- 2020
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- LLM
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/47380
- Identifier
- vital:39967
- Description
- In the past decade technology has advanced significantly and at a very rapid pace. This advancement and rapid growth of technology has affected many aspects of life, including legal systems. An area of law particularly affected by the rapid changes in technology is the law of electronic evidence, especially as far as criminal matters are concerned. This is largely due to an increase in crimes committed over the internet. The growth of technology, such as cyber communications and mass media, has made audio visual and electronic messages important forms of evidence. The purpose of this research is to show the complications that technology has brought about as far as electronic evidence in the context of criminal law is concerned. It is acknowledged that South Africa has an existing legislative framework regulating electronic evidence, but it is submitted that there are lacunae in such legislation. The aim of the dissertation is therefore to expose the lack of adequate regulation in South Africa in dealing with electronic evidence. A further aim of the research is to seek to provide solutions to problems related to the regulation of electronic evidence. It is important to determine the current laws regulating electronic evidence in order to expose the lacunae within those laws. An outline of the current legal framework regulating electronic evidence shall be given. This consists of the historical background on the admissibility of electronic evidence; the constitutional basis for admitting such evidence and legal principles governing electronic evidence. Inadequate regulation of electronic evidence is a serious problem, as technology has overtaken some areas of the physical world. The criminal justice system has also been affected especially in the admissibility of electronic evidence. The problems regarding electronic evidence in criminal law matters shall be fully assessed in order to reflect how the criminal justice system has been affected and the consequences of inadequate regulation. In seeking solutions to the problems of inadequate regulation of electronic evidence, reliance is placed on recommendations by the South African Law Reform Commission; international and foreign law. A conclusion is drawn from the dissertation that, whilst technology has been rapidly advancing, the South African law regulating electronic evidence has remained largely unchanged, rendering it incapable of sufficiently regulating matters in which electronic evidence plays a key role. The demand for adequate legislation on electronic evidence is therefore apparent in this regard.
- Format
- ix, 92 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Law
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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NMU Department of Public Law
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Madzika, K 215352084 Treatise April 2020.pdf | 785 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |