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Title
Polygraph testing and the Law
Description
This publication details the rights of employees and employers surrounding the use of polygraph testing and results. The paper discusses the admissibility of such results and the persuasive value in disciplinary hearings.
Category
Discipline
Sub Category
Polygraph testing
Document Type
Publication
Filename
Polygraph testing and the Law PUB.pdf
Publish Date
12/09/2014
Price
R150.00
Author
Johanette Rheeder
Document Format
PDF

11 pages in document, you are previewing the first 2 pages below:

In South Africa, there is no regulatory body regulating polygraph and voices stress analysis tests, nor have the courts in both the criminal, civil and labour arena, set guidelines as to when the polygraph will be acceptable in a court as evidence, on its own. It was held that our labour court and the CCMA do not accept polygraph tests as reliable and admissible without some requirements being met. Firstly, the courts question the reliability of the results in relation to the person administering the test and secondly the reliability of the result itself, being indicative of deception only, not of guilt. The person who administers the test, the polygraph examiner, testifies as an expert in the court or CCMA case and may be an expert in handling the equipment, but is, in most instances, neither a medical doctor nor a psychologist. It has been established that the accuracy of the test also relies on the experience and expertise of the examiner.