Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Electronic evidence in civil proceedings'

The research question central to the thesis is stated as follows: what are the implications of new technological phenomena in South African law to the existing legal frameworks in relation to (i) investigatory powers of law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies to obtain electronic evidence, and (ii) its subsequent admissibility in criminal proceedings? Written with an emphasis on South African law, but also taking into account aspects of foreign and international law, the thesis seeks to investigate how our existing legal frameworks which regulate the use of and access to electronic evidence in criminal proceedings, including its admissibility, integrate and adapt to challenges raised by new and rapidly changing technological developments. The thesis provides a critical analysis of the existing legal framework regulating certain key investigative powers of law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies in the current modern environment of the information age in which they operate. Key among them is the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002. New technology has not only increased opportunities for criminal activity, it has also created opportunities for law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies to have access to more sophisticated and new capabilities. The range of intrusive capabilities now available to law enforcement and security and intelligence agencies triggers a range of issues and challenges for individual rights, including how those capabilities are used in investigation activities, the scale of their use, the extent to which such capabilities intrude on privacy rights, legislative authority for their use and safeguards that constrain and regulate such new technological capabilities. The challenges of regulating investigative powers in an era of new and fastpaced technological developments is explored in relation to (i) interception of communications (ii) acquisition and retention of communications data, and (iii) access to encrypted information. The introduction of electronic evidence in criminal legal proceedings raises unique challenges in the South African law on evidence. The most interesting perhaps is the extent to which the nature of the evidence presented, in this instance electronic evidence, impacts on admissibility in criminal proceedings. Potential anomalies arise as the relevant legislation, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, is based on an electronic commerce model law concerned with commercial activities. In this regard, two separate issues are the focus of research interest. The thesis offers a rethinking of (a) admissibility of electronic evidence and (b) its weight. The meaning and application of certain statutory provisions, insofar as it applies to electronic evidence as hearsay or real evidence, or both, are key and controversial issues. Another relates to the business records exceptions, which directly translated for electronic records appears to have created a problematic presumption. On matters of evidential weight, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all' approach that will work. While a robust consideration of authentication is required in the court's assessment of evidential weight of electronic evidence, it should not be subject to inflexible tests that make it difficult for authentic electronic evidence to be admitted into evidence. A central premise of the thesis is that evolving technological phenomena can and do present challenges to existing legal concepts on evidence and the investigatory powers of law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies to obtain electronic evidence and for its admissibility in criminal proceedings. This is done in the context of understanding whether South African law has developed appropriately in response to advancements in technology. In the final analysis, the thesis considers appropriate and meaningful reform towards a modern and transparent legal framework in South African law.

Magister Legum - LLM
This research will analyse legislation, case law, law commission papers and reports, as well as academic commentary on electronic evidence in South Africa, Canada and England. A comparative analysis will be conducted in order to determine whether South Africa is adequately regulating electronic evidence in light of international and foreign law.

Thesis (M.A.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2008.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Oct. 3, 2008) "City University of Hong Kong, School of Law, LW 6409A Dissertation." Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-65)

Magister Legum - LLM
South Africa, among others, has adopted, and is bound by, the so-called 'rule in Hollington‘ that originated in England in 1943 in Hollington v Hewthorn (hereinafter the 'Hollington case‘). The issue, among others, that the English Appeal Court had to determine in this case was whether a judgement of a criminal court could be used in subsequent civil proceedings to prove the liability of either of the litigants. The Court reached the conclusion that a judgement of a criminal court is just an irrelevant and inadmissible opinion in later civil proceedings. The court adopted the view that had a criminal conviction been admissible evidence in civil proceedings, it would lead to a situation where the defendant would end up challenging the propriety of those convictions. In the light of that, the courts would be faced with a duty to retry the criminal case in the midst of the civil proceedings. Section 17 of the Civil Proceedings Evidence Act (CPEA) provides that a conviction or an acquittal can be proved by the production of a document dully certified by the relevant court that acquitted or convicted the person in question. Furthermore, section 18 of the Supreme Court Act (SuCA) now section 34 of the Superior Courts Act (SupCA) provides that whenever a judgement, among other things, of a court needs to be proved or referred to in any manner a duly certified copy thereof will serve as prima facie evidence thereof. These sections militate against the rule in Hollington in that they allow, or at least should be interpreted in a manner that accords with the allowance of, the admissibility of conviction evidence in later civil law suits.

Orientador: Yvete Flávio da Costa
Resumo: A presente pesquisa tem a finalidade de analisar a Tutela da Evidência frente ao novo ordenamento processual civil. Tal instituto faz parte das Tutelas Provisórias, aquelas analisadas a partir de um juízo sumário a fim de se conceder maior eficiência ao processo durante o seu curso. Num primeiro momento necessário um estudo sobre o panorama geral das tutelas provisórias, dando um enfoque na de urgência, a qual demanda a presença dos requisitos da probabilidade do direito e do perigo de dano ou risco ao resultado útil do processo, de forma cumulativa. Feita essa abordagem, concentrar-se-á o estudo nos casos explícitos de tutela da evidência, presentes no rol do art. 311 do Código Processual Civil, estabelecendo-se, ainda, as premissas para a suas diferenças em relação à tutela de urgência, principalmente no tocante à ausência de demonstração do periculum in mora. Por fim, um estudo acerca de hipóteses de tutela evidente fora do rol do art. 311, e até mesmo do CPC/2015 necessita ser feito, pois a legislação processual preconiza algumas situações “especiais” de evidência, em que se concede tutelas, e até mesmo liminares, somente com o fumus boni iuris. Busca-se, portanto, um entendimento sobre o que é um direito evidente e como as novas ferramentas processuais podem contribuir para maior eficiência e celeridade processuais, garantindo-se um mais efetivo acesso à ordem jurídica justa.
Mestre

Conforme exposição de motivos do Código de Processo Civil de 2015, um dos fundamentos para sua elaboração foi a de proporcionar maior celeridade e efetividade ao processo. Para concretizar o objetivo almejado, foi adotado o termo tutela de evidência no artigo 311, ampliando as hipóteses de antecipação dos efeitos da tutela jurisdicional, sem, contudo, necessidade de comprovação da urgência. Portanto, o CPC/2015 apresenta um novo arcabouço para as tutelas provisórias, sendo imprescindível seu estudo pelos operadores do direito. Entretanto, a mudança legislativa não possui embasamento estatístico que a justifique. Assim, o presente trabalho tem como pretensão apresentar as premissas teóricas que fundamentaram a criação da tutela de evidência, enfrentando os temas relacionados com ênfase em análise empírica de processos judiciais, verificando se existe separação entre os conceitos encampados pela doutrina e pela prática jurídica.
According to the exposition of motives from the Civil Process Code of 2015, one of the fundamentals to its elaboration was to provide celerity and effectiveness to the process. To achieve the intended goal, it was adopted the evidence injunction on article 311, expanding the anticipation hypothesis of the judicial protection effects, without, however, need to prove the urgency. Therefore, the CPC/2015 presents a new framework to the provisory judicial protection, being indispensable its study by the operators of law. However, the legislative change does not possess statistical basement that justifies itself. Thereby, the present work has the pretension to present the theoretical premises that grounded the evidence injunction creation, facing the themes related to emphasis in empirical analysis of judicial processes, checking if there is separation between the concepts emplaced by the doctrine and by the juridical practice.

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This study aims to analyze the principle of reasonable duration of the proceedings towards the so-called effectiveness in contemporary civil procedure. In this sense, the analysis of constitutional principles will support a better understanding of the modern scientism procedure, guided by the obedience to Constitution. Thus, reflections turn over on what represents an expeditious and effective process, so focusing on the reasonable length without sacrificing legal certainty. Also, it is included in the study the Electronic process of law and its sue activities. Thereat, the goal is to evaluate in what ways or points the Electronic process of law and electronic activities in process of law may contribute for the principle of reasonable duration of the proceedings in sue activities. Moreover, it is presented some observations about this up-to-date phenomenon; and finally it is concluded that an expeditious and effective process does not necessarily means that the process of law shall be electronically managed
Este estudo tem como finalidade a análise do princípio da razoável duração do processo frente ao que se objetiva denominar efetividade no processo civil contemporâneo. A análise de princípios constitucionais dará suporte para melhor compreensão do cientificismo processual moderno pautado pela obediência à Constituição. Desta forma, a reflexão gira em torno do que representa um processo célere e efetivo de modo a privilegiar a razoável duração sem que se ofenda a segurança jurídica. Neste sentido, analisa-se, ainda e especialmente, o processo eletrônico e seus atos processuais. Com isso, pretende-se discutir até que ponto a introdução do processo eletrônico em nosso sistema e a prática de atos processuais de maneira eletrônica pode efetivar a aplicação do princípio constitucional da razoável duração do processo. Nessa toada tem-se a apresentação de críticas e visões sobre essa nova realidade para se concluir que um processo mais célere não necessariamente representa um processo conduzido de maneira eletrônica

La tesis se encarga de analizar, por un lado, la integración y el desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías en la Administración de Justicia; y, por otro, los parámetros que constituyen la validez y eficacia del documento electrónico.
La primera cuestión se centra en la configuración de los Sistemas de Información de la Oficina Judicial y del Ministerio Fiscal, así como de la informatización de los Registros Civiles, donde el art. 230 LOPJ es la pieza clave. Se estudian sus programas, aplicaciones, la videoconferencia, los ficheros judiciales y las redes de telecomunicaciones que poseen la cobertura de la firma electrónica reconocida, donde cobran gran relevancia los convenios de colaboración tecnológica. La digitalización de las vistas quizá sea una de las cuestiones con más trascendencia, teniendo en cuenta que el juicio es el acto que culmina el proceso. Aunque no todos los proyectos adoptados en el ámbito de la e.justicia se han desarrollado de forma integral, ni han llegado a la totalidad de los órganos judiciales. El objetivo final es lograr una Justicia más ágil y de calidad, a lo cual aspira el Plan Estratégico de Modernización de la Justicia 2009-2012 aprobado recientemente.
En referencia a la segunda perspectiva, no cabe duda que el Ordenamiento jurídico y los tribunales, en el ámbito de la justicia material, otorgan plena validez y eficacia al documento electrónico. Nuestra línea de investigación se justifica porque cada vez son más los procesos que incorporan soportes electrónicos de todo tipo, ya sea al plantearse la acción o posteriormente como medio de prueba (art. 299.2 LEC). Entre otros temas examinamos el documento informático, la problemática que rodea al fax, los sistemas de videograbación y el contrato electrónico.
La tesi s'encarrega d'analitzar, per una part, la integració i el desenvolupament de les noves tecnologies dins l´Administració de Justícia; i, per l'altra, els paràmetres que constitueixen la validesa i l'eficàcia del document electrònic.
La primera qüestió es centra en la configuració dels Sistemes d´Informació de l´Oficina Judicial i del Ministeri Fiscal, així com de la informatització dels Registres Civils, on l'art. 230 LOPJ es la peça clau. S'estudien els seus programes, aplicacions, la videoconferència, el fitxers judicials i les xarxes de telecomunicacions que tenen la cobertura de la firma electrònica reconeguda, on cobren gran rellevància els convenis de col·laboració tecnològica. La digitalització de les vistes tal vegada sigui una de les qüestions amb més transcendència, tenint amb compte que el judici es l'acte que culmina el procés. Però no tots el projectes adoptats en l'àmbit de la e.justicia s'han desenvolupat d'una manera integral ni han arribat a la totalitat dels òrgans judicials. L'objectiu final es assolir una Justícia més àgil i de qualitat, al que aspira el Pla Estratègic de Modernització de la Justícia 2009-2012 aprovat recentment.
En referència a la segona perspectiva, no hi ha dubte que l´Ordenament jurídic i els tribunals, en l'àmbit de la justícia material, donen plena validesa i eficàcia al document electrònic. La nostra línia d'investigació es justifica perquè cada vegada son més el processos que incorporen suports electrònics de tot tipus, ja sigui quant es planteja l'acció o posteriorment como a medi de prova (art. 299.2 LEC). Entre altres temes examinem el document informàtic, la problemàtica que envolta al fax, els sistemes de videogravació i el contracte electrònic.
The thesis seeks to analyse, on the one hand, the integration and development of the new technologies in the Administration of Justice; and, on the other, the parameters which constitute the validity and efficiency of the electronic document.
The first question centres on the configuration of the Information Systems of the Judicial Office and the Public Prosecutor, as well as the computerisation of the Civil Registers, where the art. 230 LOPJ it's the part key. Their programmes, applications, the Video Conferencing, the judicial registers and the telecommunication networks which are covered by the recognised electronic signatures, are studied, where the agreements on technological collaboration gain great relevance. The digitalisation of evidence might perhaps be one of the questions with most consequence, bearing in mind that the judgment is the act by which the process is culminated. Although not all the projects adopted within the compass of e.justice have developed completely nor have reached all the judicial organs. The final objective is to achieve an agile, quality Justice, to which the recently approved Strategic Plan for the Modernisation of Justice aspires.
With reference to the second perspective, there is no doubt that the juridical Ordinance and the tribunals within the compass of material justice grant full validity and efficacy to the electronic document. Our line of investigation is justified because there are more and more processes which are sustained by electronic supports of all kinds, whether it be at the establishment of the action or later, as a proof of it (art. 299.2 LEC). Amongst other things, we examine the computerised document, the problems which surround the fax, the systems for video recording and the electronic contract.

L’actualisation des données sur le contentieux privé des pratiques anticoncurrentielles fait naître laconviction que l’état de sous-développement souvent pointé est aujourd’hui dépassé. Les statistiquessont nettes : des dizaines d’affaires sont plaidées chaque année. Toutefois, ce contentieux s’esquissesous des traits qui ne sont pas exactement ceux du contentieux indemnitaire de masse faisant suite àla commission d’ententes internationales. C’est un fait majeur qui doit être noté car l’essentiel desprojets de réforme furent bâtis sur cet idéal type. Trois des caractères les plus saillants de la réalitéjudiciaire témoignent de cette fracture entre droit positif et droit prospectif. D’abord, le contentieuxprivé est majoritairement un contentieux contractuel entre professionnels aux forces déséquilibrées. Ensuite, c’estun contentieux national – voire local – plus qu’un contentieux international. Enfin, c’est plutôt uncontentieux autonome se déployant devant les juridictions judiciaires sans procédure préalable oupostérieure des autorités de concurrence (stand alone). Paradoxalement, les actions complémentaires(follow-on), pourtant réputées d’une mise en oeuvre aisée, sont plus rares. Ces observations invitentalors à réviser l’ordre des priorités de toute réflexion prospective. Ainsi, la lutte contre l’asymétried’informations et de moyens entre litigants, l’essor de sanctions contractuelles efficaces, larecomposition du rôle des autorités juridictionnelles et administratives dans le procès civil ou encorele développement des procédures de référé s’imposent avec urgence. Mais s’il paraît légitime desoutenir ce contentieux autonome déjà existant, il n’en reste pas moins utile de participer à laréflexion déjà amorcée pour développer le contentieux indemnitaire de masse tant attendu et dont onne peut négliger les atouts. De lege ferenda, le contentieux privé de demain présenterait donc uncaractère bicéphale ; il serait à la fois autonome et complémentaire. Il faut alors tenter de concevoir unrégime efficace pour ces deux moutures du contentieux privé en tenant compte de leurs exigencesrespectives. Or l’analyse positive et prospective de leurs fonctions révèlent que contentieuxautonome et contentieux complémentaire s’illustrent autant par les fonctions qu’ils partagent que parcelles qui les distinguent. Il serait donc excessif de vouloir en tous points leur faire application derègles particulières ou, à l’inverse, de règles identiques. C’est donc vers l’élaboration d’un régime commun complété par un régime particulier à chacun d’eux que s’orientera la présente recherche.PREMIÈRE PARTIE. Le régime commun aux contentieux privés autonome et complémentaireSECONDE PARTIE. Le régime particulier à chacun des contentieux privés autonome et complémentaire
Pas de résumé en anglais

Résumé I chose the topic of evidence in civil legal proceedings as I regard the matter not only as very interesting, but also as very significant from the viewpoint of further specialist work. The production of evidence in civil procedural law includes not only activities by the parties when exercising their subjective rights, but also activities by a court, whose task is to ensure just protection of the rights and legitimate interests of the parties. As evidence in civil legal proceedings is a markedly wide-ranging issue, in this work I have limited myself to an explanation of the basic institutions of evidence in civil legal proceedings and have paid more attention to current questions concerning selected means of evidence, the question of imposing the duty to pay an advance on the costs of evidence in the form of an expert report and the question of the production of evidence through questioning of a minor. In chapter one I attempted an analysis of the term evidence and a specification of the subject of evidence from the viewpoint of its positive and negative definition, i.e., in brief what is and what is not the subject of evidence. I also briefly mentioned the issue of community law in connection with the Czech Republic's membership of the European Union. In this chapter it was also necessary to...

As a topic of my thesis I chose one of the fundamental topics of the civil procedure, because in the evidence in civil proceedings the court gets the grounds for a fair decision in the matter. Although it may seem classical, the topic is still very important because of modern trends and frequent amendments of the Civil Procedure Code. The issues related to evidence procedure are not only interesting, but also essential for practice, because the final judgment relies upon various pleadings of the parties and activity of the court. Due to its extent and significance, the topic cannot be fully covered by one thesis, and thus during elaboration of the thesis I divided it in two sections. The first section examines the general problems connected with evidence in civil proceedings and the second section deals with selected issues of evidence in civil proceedings, respective burdens and phases of the evidence procedure. In the first section I tried to define the term evidence and the subject of the evidence by finding what does and what does not belong therein. This section also addresses identical statements of the parties. Further I focused on institutes that facilitate the evidence in civil proceedings. Among these I examined legal fictions which allow to bring in a decision even where some statements...

The topic of my thesis is evidence in civil proceedings. I chose this topic, because evidence is one of the basic parts of the civil procedure and it has a direct influence on court's decision in the matter. The court decides in the matter on the ground of factual findings, which gets within the evidence procedure. That is why the knowledge of evidence procedure is important for practice. The aim of the thesis is to analyse fundamental issues of evidence in civil proceedings and compare theoretical knowledge with judicature of the courts, especially of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic and the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. The thesis especially focuses on the issue, how the form of evidence procedure is influenced by principles of civil proceeding. The thesis is composed of seven chapters. Chapter One is Introduction and Chapter Seven is Conclusion. The rest of chapters deals with different aspects of evidence in civil proceedings. Chapter Two deals with basic issues of evidence in civil proceedings. The chapter is subdivided into four parts. Part One defines the basic terms. Part Two describes, which facts are the subject of evidence and which facts are not. Part Three deals with the institutes, which facilitates the evidence in civil proceedings. These institutes are legal...

The diploma thesis analyses means of evidence used in civil proceedings. Means of evidence are integral part of proofing process which is considered to be the foundation of civil litigations. The goal of this thesis is to provide comprehensive categorization of means of evidence used in civil litigations and depict some of their specifics, including means of evidence which are not specifically regulated by the law. The thesis is based on specialized literature, legislation, and, from a large part, also on Czech courts case law. Text of the thesis is divided into four chapters, each of them further divided into several sub-chapters. First chapter is general introduction to civil lawsuit and proofing problematics. It defines proofing process itself, subject of proofing, and principles applied in the court at this stage of the lawsuit. Second chapter describes means of evidence in general. It provides reader with means of evidence definition and categorization, and also defines means of evidence which are inadmissible in the civil lawsuit. Third, the most extensive chapter, is dedicated to means of evidence which are specifically regulated by code of civil judicial procedure. It describes each of them in detail, differentiates them, and also describes proofing process in the court trial. First...

Dissertação de mestrado em Direito (área de especialização em Direito e Informática)
O presente trabalho tem por objeto o tema da admissibilidade da prova eletrónico-digital no ordenamento jurídico português, no âmbito do processo civil, bem como a consagração de um regime específico e de uma expressa disposição legal em seu torno na lei geral portuguesa. Realizaremos estudo uma vez que, contrariamente ao que ocorreu com o Processo Penal, e não obstante a recente reforma processual civil (com a Lei 41/2013, de 26 de junho), nenhuma menção específica relativamente a este tipo de prova foi elencada no texto legal do Código de Processo Civil, ficando-se apenas com documentos legais avulsos e transposições de Diretivas Europeias alusivas a valores probatórios de documentos eletrónicos. Neste sentido, o nosso estudo prender-se-á com a análise da problemática em causa e com a clarificação de vários aspetos jurídicos e científicos relativamente às especificidades da prova eletrónico-digital e ao seu potencial impacto na resolução de vários impasses que afligem o Processo Civil. Teremos como base jurisprudência e doutrina nacional e estrangeira que nos auxiliarão a clarificar quaisquer dúvidas relativamente ao assunto.
This thesis is the product of my research and studies on the issue of the admissibility of digital-electronic evidence in Portugal’s legal system, under the scope of its civil procedure; as well as the establishment of a specific base and legal provision for it in Portuguese general law. Our study was motivated by the fact that, unlike what happened with the Portuguese Criminal Procedure, and in spite of the recent civil procedure reform (with Law 41/2013, of 26 of June), there has been specific mention about this specific type of evidence in the Portuguese Civil Procedure Code, leaving us with loose legal documents and transpositions of European Directives regarding the value of proof found in electronic documents. As such, our study will focus on the analysis of the issue at hand and on classifying several legal and scientific aspects pertaining the specifics of electronic-digital evidences, and their potential impact in solving several hold-ups that afflict our Civil Procedure. We will base our work in national and international jurisprudence and doctrine, which will help us clarify any doubts regarding the subject.

碩士
東吳大學
法律學系
97
Technology has not only changed our life and the business world, but also changed many aspects of the discovery process - the pretrial facts finding process and an essential step in U.S. civil litigation. More and more information created every day is now in electronic format. As a result, the discovery of electronic material has also evolved to be one of the most important process in U.S. civil litigation. .Compared to the U.S., without a discovery system or the disclosure obligation between the litigation parties, the discussion of electronic evidence in Taiwan has been focused on how to search and obtain electronic evidence for criminal investigation purpose or on the legitimacy and authenticity of electronic evidence. The discussion concerning electronic evidence in Taiwan civil litigation is quite limited and electronic stored information as the potential source of evidence in civil litigation has been overlooked. Starting from exploring the difference between the discovery of electronic and paper documents in U.S. civil litigation, the thesis studied several cases and the amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that governing electronic discovery to understand the issues of electronic discovery, the pros and cons of having electronic materials discoverable, the rationale behind the 2006 amendments to FRCP, and the impacts of this amendments on U.S. civil litigation. After understanding the issues behind the U.S. system, the thesis attempted to get an overview on the legal status and applicable laws of electronic evidence in Taiwan civil procedure, and tried to identify some potential issues in Taiwan procedure, that may be comparable to the U.S. system. These issues ranged from evidence preservation before filing a complaint, the preservation obligation over electronic evidence, the production and submission obligation over electronic evidence, the specification of electronic evidence, the cost and forms of electronic evidence production, the sanctions over evidence spoliation and other violation, etc. Finally, the thesis analyzed the potential issues and shortfalls on the use of electronic evidence under Taiwan’s current civil procedure and tried to make some suggestions for future improvements.

Holčapek, T., Evidence in Civil Litigation with Emphasis on Disputes Arising from Medical Care, doctoral thesis, Charles University in Prague, Law Faculty, 2010. The doctoral thesis focuses on the issues of fact-finding in general and evidence in particular, all within the framework of rules of civil proceedings and with regard to lawsuits that result from the providing of medical care. It analyses the factual prerequisites which need to be found (proven) in order to establish liability of the health care provider for personal injury or interference with personality rights of the patient, and discusses who bears the evidentiary burden in their respect, how persuasive the proof has to be and what techniques for the lightening of such burden (e. g. factual presumptions or utilisation of loss of chance or other concept of proportional liability) are employed by various legal systems. The thesis builds on the comparison between Czech law and rules used in other legal areas, including both continental law and common law countries. Keywords: health, medical care, civil liability, civil proceedings, evidence

Evidence in civil contentious proceedings with regard to the accusatorial principle Abstract The goal of this master's thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principle of civil contentious proceedings - the accusatorial principle, according to which the activities of process subjects are guided in the context of evidence. Under this principle, Czech courts look for facts to the extent claimed by parties because they have a decisive role in contentious proceedings. The parties to the proceedings develop the legal proceeding through their mutual adversarial activities and are responsible for establishing the facts, as the burden of proof and the burden of persuasion lays on them. The court has to make an objective and impartial decision on the basis of the gathered evidence in the civil litigation. If neither party is sufficiently active, they are at risk of an unsuccessful outcome of the litigation. However, the accusatorial principle is modified by law and other procedural principles. Exceptions are therefore allowed, and on their basis the court may intervene and provide their own additional evidence. The law allows it on the basis of two cumulative conditions - evidence must be necessary for establishing the facts and the basis for the taking evidence must be in the file. The...

Nieustannemu rozwojowi technologii komputerowych towarzyszy stały rozwój związanych z tym zagrożeń, co wymaga - nie mniej nieustannej - czujności ustawodawcy i przedstawicieli organów ścigania. Katalog przestępstw współcześnie popełnianych z udziałem komputerów obejmuje niemalże wszystkie typy czynów zabronionych. Logiczną tego konsekwencja jest występowanie dowodów cyfrowych, rozumianych w dotychczasowej literaturze jako wszelkie informacje o znaczeniu dowodowym dla postępowania karnego, a mające postać danych cyfrowych. W tradycyjnym ujęciu kryminalistycznym, postępowanie z dowodami cyfrowymi wymaga działania ostrożnego i uwzględniajacego wskazania informatyki kryminalistycznej. Proces konwergencji przestępczości z technologią komputerową oraz normalizacja występowania danych cyfrowych powoduje, że dowody tego rodzaju występują w postępowaniu karnym powszechnie - tracąc przymiot "nowości". Za nowymi rozwiązaniami technologicznymi nie w pełni nadążają przepisy i praktyka postępowań karnych, a metody opisane w ramach informatyki kryminalistycznej są często ignorowane. Konieczne jest zatem uwzględnienie w przepisach proceduralnych odrębności cyfrowego materiału dowodowego w zakresie szerszym niż dotychczas - m.in. poprzez dostarczenie prawnych możliwości zabezpieczania materiału cyfrowego w sytuacjach, których nie obejmują w pełni dotychczasowe rozwiązania. Uzasadniona jest także rewizja sposobu postrzegania i definicji dowodu cyfrowego z perspektywy ostatnich dwudziestu lat rozwoju technologii. Obecnie bowiem większość materiałów cyfrowych wykorzystywanych w toku postępowania karnego rozpatrywana jest wyłącznie z perspektywy treści wydruków, nie podlegających badaniom technicznym. W wielu przypadkach jest to podejście zasadne i nienaruszające zasad postępowania karnego. Na gruncie procesowym należy jednak wyraźnie rozgraniczyć sytuacje, gdy materiały pochodzenia cyfrowego wykorzystywane są wyłącznie treściowo, a kiedy powinny podlegać zabezpieczeniu i analizie zgodnie ze wskazaniami informatyki kryminalistycznej - ma to miejsce zwłaszcza wtedy, gdy wartosć dowodu jest kwestionowana. Przeprowadzone badanie praktyki postępowań karnych w tym zakresie wskazuje jednak, że techniczno-kryminalistyczne metody posługiwania się materiałem cyfrowym wykorzystywane są bardzo rzadko, nawet gdy wydawałoby się to uzasadnione.
The constant development of computer technology is accompanied by constant development of related threats, which requires alertness of the legislator and representatives of law enforcement agencies. The catalog of crimes currently committed with the participation of computers covers almost all types of prohibited acts. The logical consequence of this is the existence of digital evidence, understood in the current literature as any information about the evidential significance in criminal proceedings existing in the form of digital data. In the traditional forensic approach, the handling of digital evidence requires caution and consideration of computer forensic science. The convergence of crime and computer technology, and the normalization of the occurrence of digital data causes such evidence to occur in criminal proceedings commonly. Rules and practice of criminal proceedings is not Fuldy up to date with the newest technological advances, and the methods described in forensic computer science are often ignored. It is therefore necessary to recognize the differences of digital evidence in the criminal proceedings in a broader scope than before - e.g. by providing legal possibilities of securing digital material in situations that are not fully covered by existing solutions. It is also justified to revise the perception and definition of digital proof from the perspective of the last twenty years of technology development. Currently, the majority of digital materials used in the course of criminal proceedings are considered only from the perspective of print content that are not subject to technical testing. In many cases this is a legitimate approach and does not violate the rules of criminal procedure. On the basis of a procedural law, however, it is necessary to clearly distinguish situations when materials of digital origin are used only in content, and when they should be subject to acquisition and analysis with use of methods known to forensic science - this is especially the case when the value of proof is questioned. The conducted investigation of the practice of criminal proceedings in this respect, however, indicates that the technical-forensic methods of using digital material are used very rarely, even when it seems reasonable.

The thesis investigates the extent to which cross-border taking of evidence in civil and com-mercial matters in relation to Switzerland, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria, and Uganda is allowed. Such evidence-taking is not only governed by the domestic law of the state seeking evidence abroad and that of the state where the relevant means of proof are located, but also by public international law, and more specifically by the concept of sovereignty. The ad-missibility of the cross-border taking of evidence under public international law depends on whether or not evidence-gathering in civil litigation is regarded as a judicial act, which violates sovereignty when performed on foreign territory, or as a purely private act. In the first case, the evidentiary material has to be obtained through channels of international judicial assistance. Such assistance can either be rendered based on the basis of an international treaty, or through courtoisie internationale. No international judicial assistance is necessary in cases of a so-called “transfer of foreign evidence”, provided no compulsion is applied which infringes the sovereignty of the foreign state. The thesis analyses the taking of evidence abroad based on the Hague Evidence Convention, and the Hague Procedure Convention. It further expounds how evidence located in Switzer-land, Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria, and Uganda can be obtained for the benefit of civil proceed-ings pending abroad in the absence of any relevant international treaty. The thesis also exam-ines under what conditions a litigant in civil proceedings in the aforementioned countries may request evidence to be taken on foreign soil. The position of cross-border taking of evidence in civil and commercial matters in the said countries is assessed, and suggestions are made on how such status quo may be improved. The thesis makes an attempt to establish the basic prin-ciples for a convention on evidence-taking in civil and commercial matters between South Af-rica, Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria, and Uganda. The development of such principles, however, is only possible once the similarities and differences in the procedure for the taking of evidence and the means of proof in the relevant laws of the aforesaid countries have been identified.
Public, Constitutional, & International
LL.D.

Dans l’ère économique actuelle où les transactions commerciales, propulsées par l’omniprésence des technologies de l’information, se font de plus en plus à l’échelle mondiale, les risques de conflits juridiques de nature internationale augmentent considérablement. Les entreprises québécoises faisant plus fréquemment affaire avec des partenaires étrangers, les litiges d’aujourd’hui confrontent les parties et leurs représentants à des dilemmes légaux nouveaux qui les forcent à interagir avec des cultures judiciaires, autres que québécoises, et ce, particulièrement lors de la communication au préalable de la preuve civile. Nous nous pencherons donc sur l’analyse des divers enjeux légaux soulevés par ce processus afin de relever les considérations pratiques auxquelles seront soumises les parties à un conflit commercial international institué devant les tribunaux québécois. Ainsi, à l’aide d’un cas hypothétique, nous effectuerons l’étude des régimes procéduraux québécois, tant général que particulier, de communication de la preuve civile internationale, les restrictions applicables à la procédure ainsi que son encadrement supranational. Puis, nous étudierons l’impact des technologies de l’information sur le régime québécois de communication au préalable de la preuve civile en mettant l’accent tout particulièrement sur la dématérialisation de la preuve civile internationale, les changements législatifs de la réforme du Code de procédure civile et la protection des renseignements personnels.
In the current economic era, where business transactions are more than ever globalized due to the increasing use of technologies, the risks of legal conflicts being international in nature are now higher. Since businesses from Québec are now frequently making transactions with foreign partners, litigation nowadays confronts parties and their lawyers with new legal dilemmas, forcing them to interact with different judicial cultures other than Québec’s, especially during the pre-trial discovery and disclosure process. We will then analyze the many legal challenges resulting from this procedure to address the practical considerations that subject the parties of an international litigation instituted in front of Québec’s tribunals. Therefore, with the help of a hypothetical, we will study Québec’s general and specific procedures of discovery and disclosure of international civil evidence, its restrictions and the international legal frame surrounding it. Also, we will discuss the impact of technologies on Québec’s pre-trial discovery and disclosure process focusing on the dematerialization of civil evidence, the legislative modifications of the reform of the Québec Code of Civil Procedure, and the protection of personal data.