Cybercrimes Act, 2020 · Section 42
Preservation of Evidence Direction
Section 42 provides for directions to preserve evidence relevant to a cybercrime investigation.
What the section does
Section 42 establishes a preservation-of-evidence mechanism and provides for the issuing and service of a preservation of evidence direction in the circumstances specified by the Act.
Key points
- The direction is aimed at preserving evidence that may otherwise be altered, deleted or lost.
- The Act provides for applications to set aside a preservation direction.
- The preservation process operates within the wider search, access and seizure framework.
What this means in practice
Preserving digital evidence is especially important because data can disappear or change quickly.
Important
This page is an educational explanation of the Cybercrimes Act. It is not legal advice and does not replace the Act, regulations, court decisions or advice from a qualified legal professional.
Official source
Read the official Cybercrimes Act from the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Cybercrimes Act, 2020 — official PDF