which, if the report, transcript or document had been prepared in connection with legal proceedings in Zimbabwe, could be cited as an authority in legal proceedings in Zimbabwe. PART VII ADMISSIBILITY OF C ERTAIN EVIDENCE 26 Irrelevant evidence inadmissible Evidence that is irrelevant or immaterial and cannot lead to the proving or disproving of any point or fact in issue shall not be admissible. 27 First-hand hearsay evidence (1) Subject to this section evidence of a statement made by any person, whether orally or in writing or othe rwise, shall be admissible in civil proceedings as evidence of any fact mentioned or disclosed in the statement, if direct oral evidence by that person of that fact would be admissible in those proceedings. (2) Evidence of a statement referred to in subsection (1) shall be admissible even where the person who made the statement is called as a witness in the proceedings co ncerned. (3) If a statement referred to in subsection (1)— (a) is not contained in a document, no evidence of the statement shall be admissible unless it is given by a person who saw, heard or otherwise perceived the statement being made; (b) is contained in a document, no evidence of the statement shall be admissible except the document itself, or a copy of the document if such copy is admissible in terms of this Act or any other law. (4) In estimating the weight, if any, to be given to evidence of a statement that has been admitted in terms of subsection (1), the court shall have regard to all the circumstances affecting its accuracy or otherwise and, in particular, to— (a) whether or not the statement was made at a time when the facts contained in it were or may reasonably be supposed to have been fresh in the mind of the person who made the statement; and (b) whether or not the person who made the statement had any incentive, or might have been affected by the circumstances, to conceal or misrepresent any fact. (5) This section shall not be construed as limiting any provision of this Act or any other law providing for the admissibility of statements made by persons who are not called as witnesses to testify to such statements. 28 Evidence in previous legal proceedings (1) Where a person has previously— (a) given evidence; or (b) made an affidavit that was produced in evidence; in any legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal, and he has died or cannot be found or compelled to give evidence or for some other good and sufficient cause cannot reason ably be called to give evidence in or make an affidavit for the purposes of any subsequent civil proceedings, a document which purports to be— (i) a transcript of his evidence or a copy of his affidavit, as the case may be, in the former legal proceedings; and (ii) certified by the official having custody of the record of the former legal proceedings as a true transcript of the evidence or copy of the affidavit, as the case may be, shall be admissible on its production by any person as evidence of the fact stated therein. (2) Subsection (1) shall apply even if the evidence concerned was not recorded verbatim and the transcript of the evidence was taken from notes made by the person presiding at the proceedings. 29 Evidence of future rights (1) A person who alleges that he will become entitled to a right which will not be enforceable until the occu rrence of a future event may apply to the High Court, or to any magistrates court which will have jurisdiction to determine or enforce his alleged right, for an order allowing evidence that may be material in establishing or enforcing his alleged right to be taken on oath before a judge or magistrate, as the case may be, and the court may grant the application on such conditions, whether as to the nature of the evidence that may be taken or otherwise, as it thinks fit. (2) Evidence taken pursuant to an order in terms of subsection (1) shall be admissible, subject to this Act, in any subsequent proceedings brought to determine or enforce the alleged right concerned, if the parties to those subsequent proceedings are the same as the parties to the application in terms of subsection (1) or a re the successors in title or legal representatives of those parties: Provided that, if any person whose evidence was taken is available to give evidence in the subsequent proceedings, the court may refuse to admit his evidence as so taken. (3) A document which purports to be a transcript of evidence given by a person pursuant to an order in terms of subsection (1), and which purports to be certified as a true transcript by the official having custody of the record of the proceedings at which the evidence was taken, shall be admissible on its production by any person as evidence of the facts stated therein.