ADMISSIBILITY AND AUTHENTICITY OF ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE IN THE COURTS OF MALAYSIA AND UNITED KINGDOM

Abstract

This concept paper elaborates on two main aspects of electronic evidence (1) the admissibility of such evidence in the courts of law, and (2) its authenticity as evidence for the consideration of the courts. In both aspects, the scope of discussion would be the laws in Malaysia and in the United Kingdom (UK). In essence, the relevant rules providing for electronic evidence in Malaysia is the Evidence Act 1950, meanwhile for the case of the UK, the Civil Evidence Act 1995 and Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 which provide for electronic evidence in civil and criminal matters respectively. Engaging in comparative legal research methods, and purely library-based, the relevant legal provisions for each jurisdiction are elaborated, and numerous cases are discussed in this paper to illustrate the application of such sections in admitting and authenticating electronic evidence in the Courts of Malaysia and the UK. Hopefully, this paper would become a contribution to the body of knowledge and contribute towards more in-depth research in the area of law of evidence.