Use new technologies in courts, forum told

It is about time Papua New Guinea use new and modern technologies such as audio-visual recordings including audio-tapes, television and video recordings as evidence in courts, the underlying law conference in Alotau was told.
A senior lawyer with the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission (CLRC) Raka Raula told the participants at the conference that currently these were not admissible evidence in court.
She said: “TV-audio recordings are not a new thing in PNG but they are new in the justice system” as they are still not admissible evidence for use by the courts.”
Raula suggested that it was “desirable” and should be actively pursued and made possible for use by relevant authorities such as the police.
“It is wrong to deny the law of evidence advantages that could be gained from the introduction of new techniques and new devices such as audio-and-visual recordings,” Raula said.
She said the use of video-links or link-ups in court would save a lot of money for the legal system.
Raula said currently the traditional evidences used in PNG were: fingerprint, photographic and written statements or oral testimony.
However, she said feasibility studies must be done before new technologies  introduced in the country.