Evidence Act · 2014 Revised Edition · Chapter II
35A. Admissibility of statements produced by computers
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
In any proceedings, a statement contained in document produced by a computer shall be admissible as evidence of any fact stated therein of which direct oral evidence would be admissible if it is shown that the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) are satisfied in relation to the statement and computer in question.
document
“document” means any matter expressed, described or howsoever represented upon any substance, material, thing or article, including any matter embodied in a disc, tape, film, sound track or other device whatsoever, by means of — (a) letters, figures, marks, symbols, signals or other forms of expression, description or representation whatsoever; (b) any visual recording (whether of still or moving images); (c) any sound recording or any electronic, magnetic, mechanical or other recording, whatsoever and however made, or any sound, electronic impulse or other data whatsoever; (d) a recording or transmission of the means mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), or by more than one of the means mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d), intended to be used or which may be used for the purpose of expressing, describing or howsoever representing that matter; Illustrations A writing is a document. Words printed, lithographed or photographed are documents. A map, plan, graph or sketch is a document. An inscription on wood, metal, stone or any other substance, material or thing is a document. A photograph or a negative is a document. A tape recording of a telephonic communication, including a recording of such communication transmitted over distance is a document. A photographic or other visual recording, including a recording of photographic or other visual transmission over a distance is a document. A matter recorded, stored, processed, retrieved or produced by a computer is a document.
The conditions are —
the document containing the statement was produced by the computer during a period over which the computer was used regularly to store or process information for the purposes of any activities regularly carried on over that period, whether for profit or not, by any body, whether corporate or not, or by any individual;
over that period, there was regularly supplied to the computer in the ordinary course of those activities, information of the kind contained in the statement or of the kind from which the information so contained is derived;
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throughout the material part of that period, the computer was operating properly or, if not, any respect in which it was not operating properly or was out of operation during that part of that period was not such as to affect the production of the document or the accuracy of its contents; and
the information contained in the statement reproduces or is derived from information supplied to the computer in the ordinary course of those activities.
Where over a period the function of storing or processing information for the purposes of any activities regularly carried on over that period as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) was regularly performed by computers, whether —
by a combination of computers operating over that period;
by different computers operating in succession over that period;
by different combination of computers operating in succession over that period; or
in any other manner involving the successive operation over that period, in whatever order, of one or more computers and one or more combination of computers, all the computers used for that purpose during that period shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as constituting a single computer and references in this Act to a computer shall be construed accordingly.
In any proceedings where it is desired to give a statement in evidence by virtue of this section, a certificate doing any of the following things —
evidence
“evidence” includes — (a) all statements which the court permits or requires to be made before it by witnesses in relation to matters of fact under inquiry: such statements are called oral evidence; (b) all documents produced for the inspection of the court: such documents are called documentary evidence.
identifying the document containing the statement and describing the manner in which it was produced;
giving such particulars of any device involved in the production of that document as may be appropriate for the purpose of showing that the document was produced by a computer;
Evidence
dealing with any of the matters to which the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) relate, and purporting to be signed by a person holding a responsible position in relation to the operation of the relevant device or the management of the relevant activities (whichever is appropriate) shall be evidence of any matter stated in the certificate; and for the purposes of this subsection it shall be sufficient for a matter to be stated to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person stating it.
Notwithstanding subsection (4), in any such proceedings as are therein mentioned the court may for special cause require oral evidence to be given of any matter of which evidence could ordinarily be given by means of a certificate under that subsection.
court
“court” includes all Judges and Magistrates and, except arbitrators, all persons legally authorised to take evidence;
If any person in a certificate tendered in evidence in any proceedings by virtue of subsection (4) intentionally makes a statement material in those proceedings which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, he is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine and imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.
For the purposes of this Act —
information shall be taken to be supplied to a computer if it is supplied thereto in any appropriate form and whether it is so supplied directly or (with or without human intervention) by means of any appropriate equipment;
where in the course of activities carried on by any individual or body, where corporate of not, information is supplied with a view to its being stored or processed for the purposes of those activities by a computer operated otherwise than in the course of those activities, that information, if duly supplied to that computer, shall be taken to be supplied to it in the course of those activities;
a document shall be taken to have been produced by a computer whether it was produced by it directly or (with or without human intervention) by means of any appropriate equipment.
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Subject to subsection (3), in this Act “computer” means any device for storing and processing information, and any reference to information being derived from other information is a reference to its being derived therefrom by calculation, comparison or any other process.
Provisions supplementary to section 35A.
Terms defined in s 3
court
Defined · s 3“court” includes all Judges and Magistrates and, except arbitrators, all persons legally authorised to take evidence;
document
Defined · s 3“document” means any matter expressed, described or howsoever represented upon any substance, material, thing or article, including any matter embodied in a disc, tape, film, sound track or other device whatsoever, by means of — (a) letters, figures, marks, symbols, signals or other forms of expression, description or representation whatsoever; (b) any visual recording (whether of still or moving images); (c) any sound recording or any electronic, magnetic, mechanical or other recording, whatsoever and however made, or any sound, electronic impulse or other data whatsoever; (d) a recording or transmission of the means mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), or by more than one of the means mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d), intended to be used or which may be used for the purpose of expressing, describing or howsoever representing that matter; Illustrations A writing is a document. Words printed, lithographed or photographed are documents. A map, plan, graph or sketch is a document. An inscription on wood, metal, stone or any other substance, material or thing is a document. A photograph or a negative is a document. A tape recording of a telephonic communication, including a recording of such communication transmitted over distance is a document. A photographic or other visual recording, including a recording of photographic or other visual transmission over a distance is a document. A matter recorded, stored, processed, retrieved or produced by a computer is a document.
evidence
Defined · s 3“evidence” includes — (a) all statements which the court permits or requires to be made before it by witnesses in relation to matters of fact under inquiry: such statements are called oral evidence; (b) all documents produced for the inspection of the court: such documents are called documentary evidence.
fact
Defined · s 3“fact” means and includes — (a) anything, state of things or relation of things capable of being perceived by the senses; (b) any mental condition of which any person is conscious. Illustrations (a) That there are certain objects arranged in a certain order in a certain place is a fact. (b) That a man heard or saw something is a fact. (c) That a man said certain words is a fact. (d) That a man holds a certain opinion, has a certain intention, acts in good faith or fraudulently, or uses a particular word in a particular sense, or is or was at a specified time conscious of a particular sensation, is a fact. (e) That a man has a certain reputation is a fact. One fact is said to be relevant to another when the one is connected with the other in any of the ways referred to in the provisions of this Act relating to the relevancy of facts;
Part II
On proof
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Part III