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LEV3701 Lecture1

The document provides guidance on studying for and answering questions in an exam on the law of evidence. It discusses: 1) The primary study material is the study guide and feedback to activities, which is found in tutorial letter 102. Students should fully understand concepts and work through self-evaluation questions. 2) The law of evidence is divided into the presentation, admissibility, and evaluation of evidence. Students must identify which section applies to discuss the correct concept. 3) Different evidentiary principles apply to civil and criminal cases. Students must identify the case type to answer correctly. 4) Students must state the relevant law, explain any requirements for admissibility, and provide a conclusion with reference to

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68 views3 pages

LEV3701 Lecture1

The document provides guidance on studying for and answering questions in an exam on the law of evidence. It discusses: 1) The primary study material is the study guide and feedback to activities, which is found in tutorial letter 102. Students should fully understand concepts and work through self-evaluation questions. 2) The law of evidence is divided into the presentation, admissibility, and evaluation of evidence. Students must identify which section applies to discuss the correct concept. 3) Different evidentiary principles apply to civil and criminal cases. Students must identify the case type to answer correctly. 4) Students must state the relevant law, explain any requirements for admissibility, and provide a conclusion with reference to

Uploaded by

Mnqobi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Weekly Lecture/Comment: Lecture 1 (LEV3701)

Lecture 1 (General approach to the study material and Learning Units 1, 2 and 3)

General approach to the study material and answering questions in the exam
General approach to the study material

Note that the information in your study guide and the feedback to all activities form your
primary study material for the exam. Also note that feedback to the activities is provided
in tutorial letter 102 that can be found under “Official Study Material” on myUnisa. Do
not leave out any part of the Study Guide! Ensure that you fully understand all the
concepts explained and work through the questions for self-evaluation at the end of
each learning unit. Feedback on these questions can also be found in tutorial letter 102.
The activities and self-evaluation questions are very important for purposes of
the examination.

Remember that the law of evidence is broadly divided into 3 sections:

• The presentation of evidence


• The admissibility of evidence
• The evaluation of evidence

Keep this in mind whenever you answer questions in the exam, since it will help you
orientate in the right direction and prevent you from providing incorrect or unnecessary
information. Some concepts overlap, and it is important that you discuss the correct
concept by identifying what section of the law of evidence is at issue. See, for example,
the rule regarding the competence and compellability of a spouse to testify. There is
also a related rule that deals with communications between spouses that are privileged
information. The one rule deals with the presentation of evidence and the other deals
with the admissibility of evidence. Also see the rule relating to the competence of
children to testify. There is also a related rule that deals with caution when children are
testifying. The one rule deals with the presentation of evidence and the other with the
evaluation and assessment of evidence.

Another important aspect to remember is that different evidentiary principles apply in


civil and criminal cases. Therefore, always ask yourself whether a particular question
involves a criminal or a civil matter.

The textbook and casebook

You are frequently referred to these two sources. If you are told to read from the
textbook or from a case, you need to do so to get some background. Remember,
however, that all feedback on activities should be studied for the examination, even if
the activity deals with work you were required only to read. If you are told to study a
specific case or section in the textbook, you must do so because any number of
questions may be set on that material. In this case, you should also keep your own
notes in addition to those contained in the present tutorial letter. You will find that you
cannot follow only one way of studying the law of evidence and that you will have to
adapt your study methods according to the requirements of a particular learning unit.

Answering questions in the examination

Over the years, we have found that students’ method of answering questions in the
exam presents the biggest obstacle in passing this course. Students often study more
than enough to pass the course but fail to provide enough information in the exam to
enable them to pass. Students instinctively jump, for example, to a conclusion about the
admissibility of specific evidence without discussing the relevant law on the specific type
of evidence or without evaluating the facts of a specific question. There is simply not
enough information provided to enable them to pass. You must state and explain the
law on a specific issue and when there are certain requirements for the admissibility of a
piece of evidence, for example, the meaning of these requirements must be explained
fully. Generally, a 5-mark question will require you to wright at least a page and a 10-
mark question will require you to write down at least 1½ pages.

The LEV3701 examination will be an open-book examination, but you should study for it
in the same way you study for any other examination. The exam is going to test the
practical application of the principles you have studied, and you will struggle with the
paper if you did not put in the necessary time and effort. Please remember to fully
answer all questions with reference to the following basic principles:

■ Identify and state the central issue of a question. This should be done with reference
to the facts of the question and a definition. Always consider that more than one issue
could be involved.
■ Always give a definition of the concept or type of evidence you have identified.
■ State the general rule regarding admissibility or the type of evidence and mention all
the exceptions.
■ Discuss the relevant exception or give a general discussion of the law applicable to
the specific issue involved. The marks allocated to a specific question will be the best
indication of the amount of information you should give. Never forget to discuss cases,
legislation and any requirements for admissibility.
■ Give a motivated conclusion with reference to the facts of the question.

Learning Units 1, 2 and 3


These learning units are straightforward and there is nothing complicated about them. It
is important that you understand under what branch of our law the law of evidence falls
under and why this is the case. You should further be able to explain the difference
between the historical and knowledge sources of the law of evidence.
Note that a residuary section does not refer a part of the South African law, but to a part
of English law. An import residuary section is section 252 of the Criminal Procedure Act
51 of 1977 and you will see how this section is relevant at the learning unit dealing with
character evidence (see Learning Unit 10).
Also note that arrested, detained and accused persons have different rights. You will
later see how the rights are relevant. If arrested, detained and accused persons are not
informed of their rights, this might affect the admissibility of evidence obtained from
them (see, for example, Learning Units 14 and 15).
You can read through the section that deals with the law of evidence and our customary
law, but you need not study it for purposes of the examination.
It is important that you do the activities and questions for self-evaluation at the end of
the learning units. The feedback on them should be studied.

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