Legal Admissibility
Information is now one of our most valuable assets with an increasing amount stored electronically. It is critical that such information is properly maintained. to the highest standard - that which a court of law would accept should the worst occur.
The same is true when complying with regulatory authorities or resolving a dispute with a commercial partner. By adopting best practice there can be a dramatic improvement in the validity of information accepted by the courts and others.
The law changed with the Civil Evidence Act 1995. This change means that copies of documents - photocopied, filmed or electronically stored - are considered valid evidence. It is considered secondary evidence as it is not the original. There is legal precedent that it is for the courts to decide the evidential weight of such documents or how faithful a copy it is of the original.
So, the better an electronic document is demonstrated as a true copy of the original the more likely it will be accepted as convincing evidence. While it is true that an original document will carry more authority than a copy it is also frequently the case that an original may be lost, mislaid or destroyed.