Identifying authorship of non-genuine writing by a forensic handwriting examiner

In this article, references to “writing” incorporate handwriting, numerals, initials, and signatures. Whilst the determination of the authenticity of writing, including signatures, is accepted as being within the typical skill set of forensic handwriting examiners (FHEs), the determination of authorship of any established non-genuine writing is less well accepted and can be viewed as contentious in a court of law in South Africa. Whilst most authoritative texts correctly caution against the identification of authorship of non-genuine writing by the FHE, they differ considerably in their opinion as to whether this capability forms part of the typical skill set of the FHE.