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What is corroboration?

What is corroboration?

Corroboration connotes support or confirmation in relation to the law of evidence and basically refers to testimony which tends to confirm a fact in issue upon which some evidence has already been given. It is the independent evidence which will render the truth of the testimony more probable as to the commission of the offence and implication of the accused therewith. 

The peculiar characteristics of corroborative evidence have been set out in the case of R v Beck namely; 

  1. The evidence comes from an independent source;
  2. It must be credible witness;
  3. It confirms that the crime or the act has been committed; and 
  4. The evidence implicates the accused in the commission of the crime or the impugned acting some material particular. 

The case of DPP v. Hester from common law has shown that one credible witness is enough. The Supreme Court of Mauritius has reaffirmed this principle through the case of Paruit v. R, where it was held the court has the power to convict where necessary on the evidence of a single without corroboration as there is no such rule of law which mentions the contrary. But there are exceptions, such as where it is provided by statute or long established practice. In the case of Botte v. Queen, it has been further affirmed that the court may act on the uncorroborated evidence of a witness who is completely reliable. 


It is also very important to note that there is no corroboration where the primary itself is not credible enough for the court as held by the case of Kassim v. R.  


In the absence of corroboration, should the Courts dismiss the case outright?


Corroboration is fundamentally to confirm usually a fact in issue upon which an evidence has already been given. Thus, if the witness is reliable and credible as to the appreciation of the court then there is no real use for corroboration of the evidence. As if the court can put trust in the evidence and believes that the evidence is credible, there is no necessary use to support or confirm the evidence, if the court can already attached a reasonable amount of weight for conviction. 


In the case of DPP v Subrattee where the Court on appeal made the observation that in general, at common law one credible witness is sufficient. It can be also seen in the case of Paruit v R that the Court can convict on uncorroborated evidence and it has also been held that there are no rule of law that governs the corroboration of the evidence. The Magistrate can also convict on the uncorroborated evidence of a single witness in the same vein from the case of Paruit v. R. 


Thus, it can be seen through the case laws and from the eyes of a reasonable person that the Courts should be able to convict in the absence of corroboration of the evidence and not at all to dismiss it outright. But it is to the appreciation of the Court to decide depending on the weight that they attach to the evidence from the witness. 


Yovesh Gunnoo 

Including Information from the Office of the DPP Newsletter. 

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