Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968

Statements produced by computers as evidence in civil proceedings

13 Admissibility of statements produced by computers

(1) In any civil proceedings a statement contained in a document produced by a computer shall, subject to the provisions of section 15 of this Act, be admissible as evidence of any fact stated therein of which direct oral evidence would be admissible, if it is shown that the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) of this section are satisfied in relation to the statement and computer in question.

(2) The said conditions are—

(a) that the document containing the statement was produced by the computer during a period over which the computer was used regularly to store or process information for the purposes of any activities regularly carried on over that period by any person ;

(b) that over that period there was regularly supplied to the computer in the ordinary course of those activities information of the kind contained in the statement or of the kind from which the information so contained is derived;

(c) that throughout the material part of that period, the computer was operating properly or, if not, that any respect in which it was not operating properly or was out of operation during that part of that period was not such as to affect the production of the document or the accuracy of its contents ; and

(d) that the information contained in the statement reproduces or is derived from information supplied to the computer in the ordinary course of those activities.

(3) Where over a period the function of storing or processing information for the purposes of any activities regularly carried on over that period as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) of this section was regularly performed by computers, whether—

(a) by a combination of computers operating over that period; or

(b) by different computers operating in succession over that period; or

(c) by different combinations of computers operating in succession over that period ; or

(d) in any other manner involving the successive operation over that period, in whatever order, of one or more computers and one or more combinations of computers,

all the computers used for that purpose during that period shall be treated for the purposes of this Part of this Act as constituting a single computer; and references in this Part of this Act to a computer shall be construed accordingly.

(4) In any civil proceedings where it is desired to give a statement in evidence by virtue of this section, a certificate doing any of the following things, that is to say—

(a) identifying the document containing the statement and describing the manner in which it was produced ;

(b) giving such particulars of any device involved in the production of that document as may be appropriate for the purpose of showing that the document was produced by a computer;

(c) dealing with any of the matters to which the conditions mentioned in subsection (2) of this section relate,

and purporting to be signed by a person occupying a responsible position in relation to the operation of the relevant device or the management of the relevant activities (whichever is appropriate) shall, subject to the provisions of section 15 of this Act, be sufficient evidence of any matter stated in the certificate; and—

(i) for the purposes of this subsection it shall be sufficient for a matter to be stated to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person stating it;

(ii) any such certificate as aforesaid shall be lodged within such time as may be prescribed, not being later than the expiry of the time prescribed for the furnishing of information under section 15(3) of this Act;

(iii) any person lodging such a certificate as aforesaid shall, within the time prescribed under paragraph (ii) of this subsection, send a copy thereof to every other party to the proceedings.

(5) For the purposes of this Part of this Act—

(a) information shall be taken to be supplied to a computer if it is supplied thereto in any appropriate form and whether it is so supplied directly or (with or without human intervention) by means of any appropriate equipment;

(b) where, in the course of any activities carried on by any person, information is supplied with a view to its being stored or processed for the purposes of those activities by a computer operated otherwise than in the course of those activities, that information, if duly supplied to that computer, shall be taken to be supplied to it in the course of those activities ;

(c) a document shall be taken to have been produced by a computer whether it was produced by it directly or (with or without human intervention) by means of any appropriate equipment.

(6) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, in this Part of this Act " computer " means any device for storing and processing information, and any reference to information being derived from other information is a reference to its being derived therefrom by calculation, comparison or any other process.

14 Provisions supplementary to s. 13

(1) Where in any civil proceedings a statement contained in a document is proposed to be given in evidence by virtue of section 13 of this Act it may be proved by the production of that document or (whether or not that document is still in existence) by the production of a copy of that document, or of the material part thereof, purporting to be certified or otherwise authenticated by a person responsible for the making of the copy or in such other manner as the court may approve; and any such copy shall be taken to be a true copy unless the contrary is shown.

(2) In estimating the weight, if any, to be attached to a statement admissible in evidence by virtue of section 13 of this Act regard shall be had to all the circumstances from which any inference can reasonably be drawn as to the accuracy or otherwise of the statement and, in particular—

(a) to the question whether or not the information which the information contained in the statement reproduces or is derived from was supplied to the relevant computer, or recorded for the purpose of being supplied thereto, contemporaneously with the occurrence or existence of the facts dealt with in that informtion, and

(b) to the question whether or not any person concerned with—

(i) the supply of information to that computer, or

(ii) the operation of that computer, or

(iii) the operation of any equipment by means of which the document containing the statement was produced by that computer,

had any incentive to conceal or misrepresent the facts.

15 Procedure for purposes of s. 13

(1) Subject to subsections (6) to (8) of this section, a statement shall not be admissible in evidence in civil proceedings by virtue of section 13 of this Act unless the procedure laid down by or under this section has been complied with.

(2) A party to any civil proceedings who wishes to rely on any such statement as is mentioned in the said section 13 shall, within such time as may be prescribed, send to every other party to the proceedings a copy of the statement together with a notice in writing—

(a) intimating that the party intends to rely on the statement ;

(b) stating that the statement is contained in a document produced by a computer ;

(c) directing the attention of the other party to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section enabling a counter-notice to be given.

(3) Any party who receives such a notice as is mentioned in subsection (2) of this section may, within such time as may be prescribed, by counter-notice in writing addressed to the party who served the notice, require him, within such further time as may be prescribed, to furnish him in writing with all or any of the following information—

(a) any such information as might be the subject of a certificate under the said section 13(4), except in so far as such information is the subject of a certificate lodged under that subsection;

(b) particulars of a person occupying at the material time a responsible position in relation to any of the matters mentioned or referred to in sections 13(4) and 14(2)(b) of this Act, and, if he is not included among such persons, of any person who signed any certificate lodged as aforesaid.

(4) Any party to whom information is furnished under subsection (3) of this section may, within such time as may be prescribed, require that the party wishing to rely on the statement should call as a witness any person of whom particulars were furnished under paragraph (b) of the said subsection (3), unless that person is dead, or beyond the seas, or unfit by reason of his bodily or mental condition to attend as a witness, or cannot with reasonable diligence be identified or found, or cannot reasonably be expected (having regard to the passage of time and to all the circumstances) to have any recollection of matters relevant to the accuracy or otherwise of the statement in the document.

(5) In deciding for the purposes of this section whether or not a person is fit to attend as a witness, a court may act on a certificate purporting to be a certificate of a fully registered medical practitioner.

(6) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred on the Court of Session by sections 15 and 34 of the [1933 c. 41.] Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1933 to regulate by act of sederunt its own procedure and that of the sheriff court respectively, the said powers shall include power—

(a) to prescribe the form of any notice or other document authorised or required to be used under section 13 of this Act or this section ;

(b) to prescribe the manner in which, the time within which, and the conditions on which any thing authorised or required to be done under section 13 of this Act or this section shall or may be done ;

(c) to prescribe exceptions to any of the requirements laid down by or under this section; and

(d) to modify, amend or repeal any of the provisions of this section;

and in section 13 of this Act and this section " prescribed " shall be construed accordingly.

(7) Any act of sederunt made for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (6) of this section, in so far as it relates to civil proceedings in the Court of Session, shall (except in so far as its operation is excluded by agreement) apply, subject to such modifications as may be appropriate, in relation to any other civil proceedings (other than proceedings in the sheriff court) in like manner as it applies in relation to civil proceedings in the Court of Session, and if any question arises as to what are, for the purposes of any such civil proceedings, the appropriate modifications of any such act of sederunt, that question shall, in default of agreement, be determined by the court before whom the proceedings take place.

(8) The court in any civil proceedings shall have a discretion, where it appears to them that the interests of justice so require, and subject to such conditions (if any)' as to expenses or otherwise as the court may think fit, to allow a statement falling within section 13(1) of this Act to be given in evidence notwithstanding that any requirement laid down by or under this section has not been complied with.