The right of an accused to access to evidence in the possession of the state before trial : a discussion of S v Rowand 2009 (2) SACR 450 (W) : comments

In the case of S v Rowand 2009 (2) SACR 450 (W) the court dealt with the right of an accused to full access to the documents in the possession of the prosecutor / State before the trial. The novel point of law in this case was whether the accused had the right of access to information and documents in the possession of the State, and pertaining to the case, but not included in the police docket. The well-known cases of S v Shabalala 1995 (2) SACR 761 (CC) and S v Botha 1994 (2) SACR 541 (W) deal only with witness statements contained within the docket.