| (1) | Whenever any fact established by any examination or process requiring any skill in— |
| (a) | the interpretation of data; |
| (e) | software engineering; or |
| (f) | computer programming, |
is or may become relevant to an issue at criminal proceedings or civil proceedings as contemplated in Chapter 5 or 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998, a document purporting to be an affidavit or a solemn or attested declaration made by a person who, in that document, states that they—
| (aa) | fall within a category of persons within the Republic; or |
| (bb) | are in the service of a body in the Republic or a foreign State, |
designated by the Cabinet member responsible for the administration of justice, by notice in the Gazette;
| (ii) | possess relevant qualifications, expertise and experience which makes them competent to make the affidavit; and |
| (iii) | have established such fact by means of an examination or process that is documented in the document, |
is, upon its mere production at such proceedings, prima facie proof of such fact.
| (2) | person who makes an affidavit or a solemn or attested declaration under subsection (1) and who in such affidavit or solemn or attested declaration wilfully states anything which is false, is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both a fine and such imprisonment. |
| (3) | The court before which an affidavit or solemn or attested declaration is produced as prima facie proof of the relevant contents thereof may, in its discretion, cause the person who made the affidavit or solemn or attested declaration to be subpoenaed to give oral evidence in the proceedings in question or may cause written interrogatories to be submitted to such person for reply and such interrogatories and any reply thereto purporting to be a reply from such person are likewise admissible in evidence at such proceedings. |
| (4) | No provision of this section affects any other law under which any certificate or other document is admissible in evidence and the provisions of this section are deemed to be additional to and not in substitution of any such law. |
| (a) | For the purposes of subsection (1), a document purporting to be an affidavit or a solemn or attested declaration made by a person who in that affidavit alleges that they are in the service of a body in the Republic or a foreign State designated by the Cabinet member responsible for the administration of justice, by notice in the Gazette, has no effect unless it is— |
| (i) | obtained in terms of an order of a competent court or on the authority of a government institution of the foreign State concerned, as the case may be; and |
| (aa) | in the manner prescribed in the rules of court for the authentication of documents executed outside the Republic; or |
| (b) | The admissibility and evidentiary value of an affidavit contemplated in paragraph (a) are not 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. |
| (c) | A court before which an affidavit or a solemn or attested declaration contemplated in paragraph (a) is placed may, in order to clarify any obscurities in the said affidavit, order that a supplementary affidavit or a solemn or attested declaration be submitted or that oral evidence be heard: Provided that oral evidence may 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 prejudiced materially if oral evidence is not heard. |
