CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE ACT
(9) A document purporting to be a certificate issued by a Minister or the Prosecutor-General
in terms of subsection (7) or (8) shall be admissible in any proceedings on its production by
any person as prima facie evidence of its contents.
[Subsection amended by s. 33 of Act No. 5 of 2014 with effect from 2.1.2015]
[Section substituted by s. 9 of Act No. 9 of 2006]
117A Application for bail, bail proceedings and record thereof
(1) Subject to the proviso to section 116, an accused person may at any time apply verbally
or in writing to the judge or magistrate before whom he or she is appearing to be admitted to
bail immediately or may make such application in writing to a judge or magistrate.
(2) Every written application for bail shall be made in such form as may be prescribed in
rules of court.
(3) Every application in terms of subsection (2) shall be disposed of without undue delay.
(4) In bail proceedings the court may—
(a) postpone such proceedings;
(b) subject to subsection (5), receive—
(i) evidence on oath, including hearsay evidence;
(ii) affidavits and written reports which may be tendered by the prosecutor, the
accused or his or her legal representative;
(iii) written statements made by the prosecutor, the accused or his or her legal representative;
(iv) statements not on oath made by the accused;
(c) require the prosecutor or the accused to adduce evidence;
(d) require the prosecutor to place on record the reasons for not opposing bail.
(5) In bail proceedings the accused is compelled to inform the court whether—
(a) the accused has previously been convicted of any offence; and
(b) there are any charges pending against him or her and whether he or she has been released on bail in respect of those charges.
(6) Where the legal representative of an accused submits the information referred to in subsection (5) the accused shall be required by the court to declare whether he or she confirms
such information.
(7) The record of the bail proceedings, excluding the information referred to in subsection
(5), shall form part of the record of the trial of the accused following upon such bail proceedings:
Provided that if the accused elects to testify during the course of the bail proceedings the
court must inform him or her that anything he or she says may be used against him or her at his
or her trial and such evidence becomes admissible in any subsequent proceedings.
(8) Any accused who wilfully—
(a) fails or refuses to comply with subsection (5); or
(b) furnishes the court with false information required in terms of subsection (5);
shall be guilty of an offence and liable to fine not exceeding level seven or to imprisonment
for a period not exceeding two years or both.
(9) The court may make the release of an accused subject to conditions which, in the court’s
opinion, are in the interests of justice.
(10) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law, no accused shall, for the
purposes of bail proceedings, have access to any information, record or document relating to
the offence in question, which is contained in, or forms part of, a police docket, including any
information, record or document which is held by any police officer charged with the investigation in question, unless the Attorney-General otherwise directs:
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