Before 1994 criminal procedure was subject to the sovereignty of Parliament and the untrammelled law enforcement powers of the executive which resulted in the authoritarian and oppressive criminal justice system of the apartheid era. The Constitution, Act 108 of 1996 has since created a democratic state based on the values of the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law. The basic principles of criminal procedure are now constitutionalised in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights protects the fundamental rights of individuals when they come into contact with organs of the state which includes the police. The Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 authorises the police to search for and to seize articles, and has long provided the only legal basis for obtaining warrants to search for and to seize articles and for performing such actions without a warrant in certain circumstances. Generally the standard for these measures and actions taken under their purview has been one of reasonableness. Since the birth of the Constitution there has been additional constraints on search and seizure powers. Not only are there now constitutionalised standards by which such legal powers are to be measured, but there is also the possibility of excluding evidence obtained in course of a violation of a constitutional right. The provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act are now qualified by the Constitution. Where feasible a system of prior judicial authorisation in the form of a valid search warrant obtained on sworn information establishing reasonable grounds is a precondition for a valid search or seizure. Search and seizure without a warrant is permitted only in exceptional circumstances such as an immediate threat to person or property. By prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures the Constitution places important limits on police efforts to detect and investigate crime. The Constitution appreciates the need for legitimate law enforcement activity. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL.M.

The State as the representative of the victims of crime is expected to protect those vulnarable group of people with due regard to the rights of the perpetrators’s of crime. It is imperative that the law of general application which is aimed at protecting victims of crime, be sufficiently effective to protect the victims. The Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 is aimed at assisting the police to conduct pre-trial criminal procedure in order to bring perpetrators of crime to book. Sections 36A, 36B, 36C and 37 (both previous and as amended) of the Criminal Procedure Act including chapter 5A of the South African Police Act, 1995 are explored in this dissertation. This dissertation examines the areas in the Criminal Procedure Act that make it problematic for the police to conduct efficient and effective crime detection through the ascertainment of bodily features of the suspected or accused person. The law in three foreign jurisdictions relating to this topic are investigated and compared in order to make recommendations and suggest possible solutions. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL.M.

Crime has been around since the beginning of time. In an evolving society, and the methodology of crime also changes. The methodology of combating and preventing crime should aim to match the speed at which crime occurs. Criminal procedure deals with the powers of the police to investigate crimes.1 The Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 (CPA) contains the principles of search and seizure in chapter 2. The promulgation of the CPA was during a period where the computer was a new phenomenon. At this time, it was inconceivable that technology would ever advance and become so ubiquitous, to the point that technology would infiltrate every aspect of our lives, and laws. There has since been many developments in our law, especially a new Constitutional dispensation.2 There have been developments and technological advancements that have had a direct and indirect bearing on the CPA. People use technology to communicate, transact, and unfortunately, to commit crime. These developments require there to be amendments in the CPA. There has been no specific amendments relating to search and seizure which are of significance in addressing technological advances. It is recommended that the amendments to the CPA include definitions and guidelines for procedural aspects of collection of electronic evidence. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL. M. (Criminal and Procedural Law)