| (1) | The entries in the accounting records of an institution in a state or territory outside the Republic which is similar to a bank in the Republic, and any document which is in the possession of such an institution and which refers to the said entries or to any business transaction of the institution, shall, upon the mere production at criminal proceedings of a document purporting to be an affidavit made by any person who in that affidavit alleges— |
| (a) | that he is in the service of the institution in question; |
| (b) | that such accounting records or document are or were the ordinary records or document of the institution; |
| (c) | that the said entries have been made in the usual and ordinary course of the business of such institution; and |
| (d) | that such accounting records are or document is in the custody or under the control of such institution, |
be prima facie proof at such proceedings of the matters, transactions and accounts recorded in such accounting records or document.
| (2) | Any entry in any accounting record contemplated in subsection (1) or any document contemplated in subsection (1) may be proved at criminal proceedings upon the mere production at such proceedings of a document purporting to be an affidavit made by any person who in that affidavit alleges— |
| (a) | that he is in the service of the institution in question; |
| (b) | that he has examined the entry, accounting record or document in question; and |
| (c) | that a copy of such entry or document set out in the affidavit or in an annexure thereto is a correct copy of such entry or document. |
| (3) | A document purporting to be an affidavit shall for the purposes of this section have no effect unless— |
| (a) | it is obtained in terms of an order of a competent court or on the authority of a competent government institution of the state or territory concerned, as the case may be; |
| (b) | it is authenticated in the manner prescribed in the rules of court for the authentication of documents executed outside the Republic; or |
| (c) | it is authenticated by a person, and in the manner, contemplated in section 8 of the Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Oaths Act, 1963 (Act No. 16 of 1963). |
| (4) | The admissibility and evidentiary value of an affidavit contemplated in subsections (1) and (2) shall not be affected by the fact that the form of the oath, confirmation or attestation thereof differs from the form of the oath, confirmation or attestation prescribed in the Republic. |
| (5) | A court before which an affidavit contemplated in subsections (1) and (2) is placed may, in order to clarify obscurities in the said affidavit, on the request of a party to the proceedings order that a supplementary affidavit be submitted or that oral evidence be heard: Provided that oral evidence shall only be heard if the court is of the opinion that it is in the interests of the administration of justice and that a party to the proceedings would be materially prejudiced should oral evidence not be heard. |
(6) In this section—
'document' includes a recording or transcribed computer printout produced by any mechanical or electronic device and any device by means of which information is recorded or stored; and
'entry' includes any notation, by any means whatsoever, in the accounting records of an institution contemplated in subsection (1).
[Section 236A inserted by section 6 of Act No. 157 of 1993]
