Computer Generated Evidence In Court

Introduction We are living in what is usually described as an 'information society' and as the business community makes ever greater use of computers the courts are going to find that increasingly the disputes before them turn on evidence which has at some stage passed through or been processed by a computer. In order to keep in step with this practice it is vital that the courts are able to take account of such evidence. …

…additional requirements of section 69 PACE (eg McKeown v DPP). Doubts concerning the accuracy of information recorded on computers apply equally to paper-based systems, as do those concerning authentication. As with paper records, the necessary degree of authentication can be proved through oral and circumstantial evidence, if available, or via technological features of the system or record. (11) Although a paper document can be authenticated by its author appending a signature, various technical ways of authenticating c