ELECTRO-MAGNETIC RECORDING OF PROCEEDINGS ACT

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC RECORDING OF PROCEEDINGS

CHAPTER 284

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC RECORDING OF

PROCEEDINGS ACT

To make provision for the recording of proceedings by electro-magnetic

means.

(9th May, 1980) *

Enacted by ACT XVI of 1980, as amended by Act XXIV of 1995.

This Act may be cited as the Electro-Magnetic Recording

of Proceedings Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"court" means any court of law, Board, arbitration, tribunal,

commission or committee of inquiry, empowered by law to receive

evidence during proceedings;

"proceedings" includes evidence, oral pleadings, award, finding,

order, decree, decision or sentence and any words said in open

court or in camera during the conduct of business of any court;

"Registrar" means the Registrar of the Courts and any secretary

of any Board, arbitration, tribunal, commission or committee of

inquiry;

"tapes" means the tapes or other objects on which proceedings

have been recorded by any electro-magnetic means and includes

also a master tape;

"transcriber" means the person charged by the Registrar with the

duty of rendering in written form the recordings on the tapes.

(1) Notwithstanding any provision in any other law, any

court may order that its proceedings or any part thereof be recorded

by electro-magnetic means.

(2) The Registrar shall cause the recording on the tapes to be

transcribed

Provided that in trials on a bill of indictment the Registrar

shall not be bound to cause such transcription to be made except

when, and to the extent that, the Criminal Court or the Court of

Criminal Appeal has so ordered

Provided further, that any court may order that only part of

the proceedings be transcribed.

(3) The transcription may be handwritten or typewritten by the

transcribers as the Registrar may direct, and shall form part of the

records of the proceedings.

(4) The transcriber shall put his signature on every page of the

transcript and shall make a declaration at the end thereof that he has

honestly and faithfully and to the best of his knowledge and ability,

*See Government Notice No. 266 of 9th May, 1980.

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC RECORDING OF PROCEEDINGS

transcribed the recordings on the tapes.

(5) The tapes shall be deemed to form part of the records of the

proceedings of the court until they are erased according to the

provisions of this Act.

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 3 and of any

o t h e r l a w, t h e c o u r t m a y o r d e r t h a t o n l y t h e s u b s t a n c e o f

proceedings or of the evidence produced during proceedings, as

dictated by the court, be recorded by electro-magnetic means.

(2) Where the court has ordered that the substance only of the

evidence of any witness be recorded by electro-magnetic means

and such summary is dictated by the court in the presence of the

witness, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law requiring

that the transcript thereof shall be read over by the witness during

or after the sitting and that a note of such reading be made at the

foot of such script, such reading over shall be dispensed with, and

the transcript shall be deemed to have been duly read over and

confirmed by the witness, provided that the court shall make at the

end of such summary a declaration that the substance of the

evidence has been dictated by the court in the presence of the

witness.

The Registrar shall be responsible for the custody and safe-

keeping of the tapes

Provided that the Minister responsible for justice may

appoint any other person to perform the duties aforesaid.

Where final judgment has been delivered or where the

matter in issue has been finally resolved or where a transcription of

the recording has been made, the Registrar may direct that the

recording be erased

Provided that the court may, either ex officio or on an

application filed, within seven days from the date of the recording,

by any of the parties, direct that the recording or any part thereof be

not erased until such time as a counter order is given on the

application of the Registrar.

The Registrar may give copies of the originals of the tapes

on payment of such fee prescribed as the Minister responsible for

justice may by regulations prescribe.