A STUDY OF THE THEORY OF APPRAISAL FOR SELECTION By ...

computer records could be admissible if reliability of creation
and maintenance was established. As well, expert testimony can
be included to explain the form of electronic records if
accompanied by a sworn affidavit, or if submitted to cross-
examination.40
The "Canada Evidence Act" establishes two principles that
are used by the courts to identify a circumstantial guarantee of
trustworthiness in the creation process of documents: records
must be created systematically in the ordinary course of
business, and must be kept in the custody of the officially
appointed custodian to be considered reliable. Records with
these requisites are an authentic and reliable source that can be
considered by the courts, and from which historical accuracy can
be assessed. It is evident that these same kinds of guarantees
can offer informal guidance in their application to the pursuit
of historical meaning.
The probative nature of documentary evidence is directly
related to the circumstantial guarantee of trustworthiness the
creation process provides. Thus, the nature of documentary
evidence is derived from the creation process in which
authentication and custody are granted or denied. These
procedural guarantees of reliability permit archival documents to
be used to establish degrees of logical probabilities. The
logical requirements for proof parallel classical archival theory
regarding the inherent characteristics of archives. Archives
40 Ibid, s. 30 (4) and (9).
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