LEV3701
ASSIGNMENT 1
SEMESTER 2 – 2022
, 1.1 Answer:
Police docket privilege originated with R v Steyn 1954 (1) SA 324 (A). It is closely
related to professional privilege. In essence, it gives the prosecutor the privilege not
to have to disclose any information contained in the police docket to the accused. It is
mainly aimed at the protection of the witnesses. Because the privilege belongs to the
prosecutor, it is not, strictly speaking, a private privilege. Neither is it a public privilege.
It is therefore unique or sui generis.
The extent of police docket privilege has been dramatically reduced by the provisions
of the Constitution that allow for greater access to information held by the state, as
interpreted by the Constitutional Court in Shabalala v Attorney-General of the
Transvaal 1996 (1) SA 725 (CC).
The main limitation to police docket privilege is the constitutional right of an accused
to a fair trial, as framed in section 25(3) of the interim Constitution – section 35(3) of
the final Constitution. The police docket privilege which applied in terms of R v Steyn
1954 (1) SA 324 (A) cannot be reconciled with this. Normally, this right would ensure
access by the accused to exculpatory documents (documents which tend to show that
ASSIGNMENT 1
SEMESTER 2 – 2022
, 1.1 Answer:
Police docket privilege originated with R v Steyn 1954 (1) SA 324 (A). It is closely
related to professional privilege. In essence, it gives the prosecutor the privilege not
to have to disclose any information contained in the police docket to the accused. It is
mainly aimed at the protection of the witnesses. Because the privilege belongs to the
prosecutor, it is not, strictly speaking, a private privilege. Neither is it a public privilege.
It is therefore unique or sui generis.
The extent of police docket privilege has been dramatically reduced by the provisions
of the Constitution that allow for greater access to information held by the state, as
interpreted by the Constitutional Court in Shabalala v Attorney-General of the
Transvaal 1996 (1) SA 725 (CC).
The main limitation to police docket privilege is the constitutional right of an accused
to a fair trial, as framed in section 25(3) of the interim Constitution – section 35(3) of
the final Constitution. The police docket privilege which applied in terms of R v Steyn
1954 (1) SA 324 (A) cannot be reconciled with this. Normally, this right would ensure
access by the accused to exculpatory documents (documents which tend to show that
