Abstract The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 makes provision for the right to bail, which can only be granted when it is in the interests of justice. The Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) 85 of 1997 amended the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 in order to bring it in line with the Constitution by setting out the procedure to be followed in bail applications. In reality, however, the provisions of this statute have made it difficult for accused persons to be released on bail. This is particularly glaring in respect of Schedule 6 offences, where accused persons must adduce evidence to convince the court that there are exceptional circumstances that justify their release on bail. In this article, we outline the purpose and justification of bail, as well as the framework of s 60(11) of the CPA, with a focus on the notion of exceptional circumstances. We argue that, read with the requirement that the accused must adduce evidence in bail applications, the net effect of the current bail process is that accused persons are unjustifiably disadvantaged, and their right to bail, as set out in the Constitution, is hampered. We recommend that accused persons be entitled to the contents of the docket at the bail application stage.

中文翻译：

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保释权？南非保释法中对被告不利的可能性

摘要 1996 年南非共和国宪法规定了保释权，只有在符合正义利益的情况下才能授予保释权。1997 年第 85 号刑事诉讼法（CPA）修订了 1977 年第 51 号刑事诉讼法，以便通过规定保释申请应遵循的程序使其符合宪法。然而，实际上，该法规的规定使被告人难以获得保释。这在附表 6 罪行方面尤为明显，在这些罪行中，被告必须举证说服法庭，有特殊情况证明他们有理由保释。在本文中，我们概述了保释的目的和理由，以及 CPA 第 60(11) 条的框架，重点放在特殊情况的概念上。我们认为，根据被告人必须在保释申请中提供证据的要求，当前保释程序的净影响是被告人处于不合理的不利地位，他们的保释权受到宪法规定的阻碍。我们建议被告人在保释申请阶段有权获得案卷的内容。