Civil Proceedings Evidence Act

1 Civil Proceedings Evidence ACT 25 OF 1965 [ASSENTED TO 15 MARCH 1965] [DATE OF COMMENCEMENT: 30 JUNE 1967] (Afrikaans text signed by the State President) as amended by Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 Transfer of Powers and Duties of the State President Act 97 of 1986 Law of Evidence Amendment Act 45 of 1988 Justice Laws Rationalisation Act 18 of 1996 General Law Amendment Act 49 of 1996 ACT To state the law of Evidence in regard to Civil Proceedings , to repeal the Ordinance for altering, amending, and declaring in certain respects, the Law of Evidence within this Colony, 1830 (Cape), the Ordinance for improving the Law of Evidence , 1846 (Cape)

2 , the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1877 (Cape), the Oaths and Declarations Act, 1891 (Cape), the Law to regulate the Law of Evidence in the Colony of Natal, 1859 (Natal), the Law to amend the Law of Evidence , 1870 (Natal), the Law to provide for the production in Evidence of Copies, instead of Originals, of Public Documents, 1884 (Natal) and the Presumption of Death of Soldiers Act, 1952, to amend the Law of Evidence Amendment Act, 1861 (Cape), the Law to make further provision in respect of the substitution, in certain cases, of Declarations for Oaths, 1862 (Natal), the Law of Evidence Ordinance, 1902 (Orange Free State), the Law of Evidence Proclamation, 1902 (Transvaal), the General Law Amendment Act, 1935, the General Law Amendment Act, 1952, the Criminal Procedure Act, 1955, and the Evidence Act, 1962, and to provide for other incidental matters.

3 [Long title amended by s. 1 of Act 49 of 1996.] ARRANGEMENT OF CONTENTS Sections PART I 2-7 Admissibility of Evidence PART II 8-14 Competency of Witnesses PART III 15-16 Sufficiency of Evidence PART IV 17-26 Documentary Evidence (General Provisions) PART V 27-32 Documentary Evidence (Special Provisions as to Bankers' Books) PART VI 33-38 Documentary Evidence (Miscellaneous Provisions) PART VII 39-41 Oaths and Affirmations PART VIII 42-45 General 1 Definitions In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates- 'Minister' means the Minister of Justice; 'Republic'.

4 [Definition of 'Republic' deleted by s. 1 of Act 49 of 1996.] Copyright Juta & Company Limited 2 PART I ADMISSIBILITY OF Evidence (ss 2-7) 2 Evidence as to irrelevant matters No Evidence as to any fact, matter or thing which is irrelevant or immaterial and cannot conduce to prove or disprove any point or fact in issue shall be admissible. 3 Evidence of non-access by husband and wife For the purposes of rebutting the presumption that a child to which a married woman has given birth is the offspring of her husband, she or her husband or both of them may give Evidence that they had no sexual intercourse with each other during the period when the child was conceived.

5 4 Evidence of genuineness of disputed writings Comparison of a disputed writing with any writing proved to be genuine may be made by witnesses, and such writings and the Evidence of any witness with respect thereto may be submitted as Evidence of the genuineness or otherwise of the writing in dispute. 5 Proof of law or anything published in official publications (1) Judicial notice shall be taken of any law or government notice, or of any other matter which has been published in the Gazette. [Sub-s. (1) amended by s. 1 of Act 49 of 1996.] (2) A copy of the Gazette, or a copy of such law, notice or other matter purporting to be printed under the superintendence or authority of the Government printer, shall, on its mere production, be Evidence of the contents of such law, notice or other matter, as the case may be.

6 [Sub-s. (2) amended by s. 1 of Act 49 of 1996.] 6 Proof of signature of public officer Any document purporting to bear the signature of any person holding a public office and bearing a seal or stamp which purports to be the seal or stamp of the department, office or institution to which such person is attached, shall, on its mere production, be prima facie proof that such person signed such document. 7 Proof by party calling witness, of previous inconsistent statement of such witness Any party who has called a witness who has given Evidence in any Civil Proceedings (whether that witness is or is not, in the opinion of the person presiding at such Proceedings , adverse to the party calling him)

7 May, after the said party or the person so presiding has asked the witness whether he has or has not previously made a statement with which his Evidence in the said Proceedings is inconsistent, and after sufficient particulars of the alleged previous statement to designate the occasion when it was made, have been mentioned to the witness, prove that he previously made a statement with which his said Evidence is inconsistent. PART II COMPETENCY OF WITNESSES (ss 8-14) 8 Save as otherwise provided, every person competent and compellable to give Evidence Save in so far as this Act or any other law otherwise provides, every person shall be competent and compellable to give Evidence in any Civil Proceedings .

8 9 Incompetency from insanity or intoxication Copyright Juta & Company Limited 3 No person appearing or proved or to be afflicted with idiocy, lunacy or insanity, or to be labouring under any imbecility of mind arising from intoxication or otherwise, whereby he is deprived of the proper use of reason, shall be competent to give Evidence while so afflicted or disabled. 10 Husband and wife not compellable to disclose communications between them (1) No husband shall be compelled to disclose any communication made to him by his wife during the marriage and no wife shall be compelled to disclose any communication made to her by her husband during the marriage.

9 (2) Subsection (1) shall also apply to a communication made during the subsistence of a marriage or a putative marriage which has been dissolved or annulled by a competent court. [Sub-s. (2) added by s. 4 of Act 45 of 1988.] 10A Status of certain marriages Any customary marriage or customary union, concluded under the indigenous law and custom of any of the indigenous peoples of the Republic of South Africa or any marriage concluded under any system of religious law, shall be regarded as a valid marriage for the purposes of the law of Evidence . [S. 10A inserted by s.]

10 4 of Act 18 of 1996.] 11 .. [S. 11 repealed by s. 5 of Act 45 of 1988.] 12 No witness compellable to testify if husband or wife not compellable No person shall be compelled to answer any question or to give any Evidence which the husband or wife of such person, if under examination as a witness, could not be compelled to answer or give. 13 When Evidence of communication alleging commission of an offence is admissible Notwithstanding anything contained in any legal provisions in terms of which a witness shall not be compellable or permitted to give Evidence in respect of certain matters on grounds of public policy or from regard to public interest, it shall be competent for any person in any Civil Proceedings to adduce Evidence of any communication alleging the commission of an offence, if the making of that communication prima facie constitutes an offence.