BURDEN OF PROOF

WHAT IS BURDEN OF
PROOF
In any case it must be determined upon

whom the burden to prove facts within case

lies.
The legal burden of proof in civil cases is on
the balance of probabilities. In essence
means that if one side can proof something is
more likely to be true that not, then it will
have been successful in asserting that which
it seeks to prove.

So, for example, if a party is trying to assert

that there was an oral contract in existence,

than that party will ordinarily have prove that
there was indeed an oral contract

The legal standard of proof in criminal cases is

that proving facts beyond reasonable

doubt.
In a criminal case, the prosecution have to
prove that the accused guilty. That is what
we mean by saying a person is innocent until
proven guilty.
There are exceptions. If the defendant
whishes to claim that he / she is insane, and
therefore not guilty, the defendant bears the
burden of proving his / her insanity. Other
exceptions include defendants who claim self-

POLICE INVESTIGATIONS

WHEN DOES INV. BEGIN

Investigations begins before the charge is

brought against you, in order to determine if

there is any or enough evidence which can
sustain the charge.

WILL YOU BE ARRESTED OR

DETAINED DURING INV.?
Any person who has been accused or

connected with or suspected of committing an

offence may be arrested by police. Where a
sizeable offence e.g. murder, robbery or theft
is suspected to have been comitted, a police
officer may arrest the offender with or without
warrant or order from the public prosecutor in
the course of investigations.

After your arrest, you cannot be kept

indefinitely in police custody pending police

investigation. You must be brought before
magistrate within 24 hrs of the arrest or where
the police need more time for their
investigations, they must produce you before
a magistrate to request permission to detain
you further for a term not exceeding 14 days
in a whole.
This procedure known as remand (S.117 CPC)

SECTION 117 CPC

Is the mechanism which allows the detention of a

suspect for more than 24 hrs to enable the police to

complete their investigation.
Under section 117(2), where investigation cannot be
completed within 24 hrs from the time of persons
arrest, the arrested person shall be produces before
a magistrates who shall then authorize the person to
be remanded for a period not exceeding 7 days if the
offence investigated is punishable with imprisonment
with less than 14 yrs and not exceeding 14 days if
the offence investigated is punishable with death or
imprisonment of 14 yrs or more.

WITNESS

A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about

crime or significant event through his or her senses (e.g

seeing, hearing, smelling, touching) and can help certify
important considerations about the crime or event.
A witness who has seen the event firsthand is known as
eyewitness. Witnesses are often called before a court of
law to testify in trials.
A subpoena commands a person to appear. It is used to
compel the testimony of a witness in a trial. Usually it can
be issued by a judge or by the lawyer representing the
plaintiff or the defendant in a civil trial or by the
prosecutor or the defense attorney in a criminal
proceeding.
A witness who specializes in an area of study relevant to
crime is called an expert witness. Scientists and doctors
are often called to give expert witness testimony

EXPERT WITNESS
An expert witness is a witness who has

knowledge beyond that of the ordinary lay

person enabling him/her to give testimony
regarding an issue that requires expertise to
understand. Experts are allowed to give
opinion testimony which a non-expert witness
may be prohibited from testifying to.

Experts are qualified according to a number of

factors, including but not limited to, the

number of years they have practiced in their
respective field, work experience related to
the case, published works, certifications,
licensing, training, educations, awards, and
peer recognition.
They may be called as upon as consultants to
a case and also used to give testimony at trial