The NPA’s Limited Independence and How to Mitigate Political Interference in High-Profile Cases

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jameelah Omar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Political Pressure ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Political Interference ◽  
Political Figure

In South Africa, the efficacy of the criminal justice system rests on the ability of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to conduct prosecutions fairly and effectively. This is because it enjoys a monopoly over the prosecution of crime, as it decides which cases will proceed to court. While there is some room for private prosecutions, these are few and far between and do not make a dent in the power of the state to prosecute crime. Political pressure can interfere with effective prosecution. Particularly where an alleged perpetrator is a political figure, there is an incentive to try to influence the head of the prosecuting authority. My suggestion is to establish a special prosecuting office, separate from the normal prosecuting authority, to deal with cases involving members of the executive and the legislature. The purpose is to create a greater measure of independence, although comparative examples demonstrate that such an office too can suffer political interference. Removing political cases from the NPA would also enable the head of the NPA to concentrate on increasing the effectiveness of the prosecuting authority and public confidence in its abilities, without derailing its focus by having to fight for institutional independence.

scholarly journals A missing link in the Traditional Courts Bill 2017: Evidence obtained through human rights violations

2018 ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
Robert Doya Nanima
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Republic

The issue of admission of evidence obtained through human rights violations is central to a criminal justice system as a mechanism through which to prevent overzealous prosecution by the state and ensure protection of human rights. As such, any court that deals with criminal cases has to evaluate evidence before it is admitted. This article argues that the Traditional Courts Bill (TCB)1 does not provide for a mode of dealing with evidence obtained as a result of human rights violations. To substantiate this argument, the article reviews the current Bill, and reflects on the challenges that arise with regard to evidence obtained in this way. The article contextualises section 35(5) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, and discusses the practical difficulties of applying it under the current Bill. The article concludes with recommendations for measures that can ensure that accused persons are not prejudiced when appearing before the court.

scholarly journals The Social Worker as Representative of the State or Society

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Ishara T. Poodhun
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The State ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
The Social

All social workers must determine to whom is their primary responsibility held - the client or the state. This paper explores issues that surround this question. The context is the criminal justice system in South Africa. A case is taken, the story of Jason as a vehicle to explore these issues.

Victim Participation in Parole Proceedings in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamil Mujuzi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
South African ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
Prison Inmate ◽  
Parole Board ◽  
Victims Of Crime ◽  
The Right

South African law provides for circumstances in which victims of crime may participate in the criminal justice system at the investigation, prosecution (trial), sentencing and parole stages. In South Africa, a prison inmate has no right to parole although the courts have held that they have a right to be considered for parole. In some cases, the victims of crime have a right to make submissions to the Parole Board about whether the offender should be released on parole. Section 299A of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 provides for the right of victims of crime to participate in parole proceedings. The purpose of this article is to discuss section 299A and illustrate ways in which victims of crime participate in the parole process. The author also recommends ways in which victims’ rights in section 299A of the Criminal Procedure Act could be strengthened.

Justice versus Social Justice in South Africa: Quo vadis?

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marelize Isabel Schoeman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Historical Discourse ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Underlying Basis ◽  
Quo Vadis

This article explores the concept of criminal justice as a formal process in which parties are judged and often adjudged from the paradigmatic perspective of legal guilt versus legal innocence. While this function of a criminal-justice system is important – and indeed necessary – in any ordered society, a society in transition such as South Africa must question the underlying basis of justice. This self-reflection must include an overview questioning whether the criminal-justice system and its rules are serving the community as originally intended or have become a self-serving function of state in which the final pursuit is outcome-driven as opposed to process-driven. The process of reflection must invariably find its genesis in the question: ‘What is justice?’ While this rhetorical phraseology has become trite through overuse, the author submits that the question remains of prime importance when considered contemporarily but viewed through the lens of historical discourse in African philosophy. In essence, the question remains unanswered. Momentum is added to this debate by the recent movement towards a more human rights and restorative approach to justice as well as the increased recognition of traditional legal approaches to criminal justice. This discussion is wide and in order to delimit its scope the author relies on a Socratically influenced method of knowledge-mining to determine the philosophical principles underpinning the justice versus social justice discourse. It is proposed that lessons learned from African philosophies about justice and social justice can be integrated into modern-day justice systems and contribute to an ordered yet socially oriented approach to justice itself.

scholarly journals Investigating the Impact of Jury Sentencing Recommendations Using Procedural Justice Theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianni Ribeiro ◽  
Emma Antrobus
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Procedural Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Frustration Effect ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Justice Theory ◽  
Perceptions Of Fairness ◽  
Sentencing Recommendations ◽  
The Impact

Public confidence in the criminal justice system is critical for the system to function effectively. Two studies investigated the impact of jury sentencing recommendations on public confidence using procedural justice theory. The first study (N = 80) manipulated the presence of jury involvement in sentencing (voice present versus voice absent) and the punitiveness of the minimum non-parole period (more punitive versus less punitive) to examine whether giving juries a “voice”—a key element of procedural justice—would increase public confidence in the courts, as well as perceptions of fairness and legitimacy. Contrary to predictions, results revealed that a more punitive sentence led to increased perceptions of legitimacy, which was associated with higher confidence. The second study (N = 60) examined whether manipulating the Judge’s agreement with the jury’s recommendation—as well as the Judge’s reason for disagreement—would elicit the “frustration effect,” leading to a decrease in confidence and perceptions of fairness and legitimacy. There was no evidence to suggest that the frustration effect was present. Results of both studies could suggest that jury sentencing recommendations may not effectively increase public confidence and perceptions of fairness and legitimacy in the courts, however alternate explanations are discussed.

scholarly journals TINJAUAN YURIDIS EKSISTENSI HAKIM PENGAWAS DAN PENGAMAT DALAM SISTEM PERADILAN PIDANA INDONESIA

FIAT JUSTISIA ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maroni Maroni
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The State ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Procedural Law

Monitoring and observation of court decisions made by judges is a new institution in the criminal procedural law in Indonesia. Through monitoring and observation of expected gaps (gap) between what the judge decided and reality implementation of the criminal in prison can be bridged. Judges will be brought closer to the prosecutors and corrections officials so that judges can follow the development of the state of the convict. Keywords: Judge, Supervisor and Observer, the Criminal Justice System

West Belfast

The Hoods ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Hamill
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Irish Republican Army

This chapter argues that, from the early days of the political conflict in the 1970s the conditions were such that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) adopted some of the functions of the state, namely the provision of policing and punishment of ordinary crime. The hostility of the statutory criminal justice system, particularly the police, toward the working-class Catholic community dramatically increased the costs of using state services. The high levels of disaffection and aggression among working-class Catholics toward the police meant that the state could no longer fulfill its function and police the community in any “normal” way. A demand for policing therefore existed. Simultaneously, this demand was met and fostered by the IRA, which had the motivation, the manpower, and the monopoly on the use of violence necessary to carry out this role.

Criminology in the Arab World: Misconceptions, Nuances and Future Prospects

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-536
Author(s):  
Nabil Ouassini ◽  
Anwar Ouassini
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Arab World ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Violence ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Comparative Criminology

Abstract In the protests that occurred throughout the Arab world, the criminal justice system has been the focal contention between citizens and the state. However, the notoriety of Arab regimes has compelled academics to devote their endeavours to political/religious violence, economic development/stagnation and the durability of undemocratic systems that has inhibited the production of criminological scholarship. The study of criminology in the Arab world is critical and necessitates special attention. The following article propounds the establishment of an Arab criminology sub-field that highlights strategies in research in the region, evaluates the current approaches, addresses the challenges and examines its implications on southern, international and comparative criminology.

‘Coercive confinement’: An idea whose time has come?

Incarceration ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 263266632093644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian O’Donnell ◽  
Eoin O’Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitals ◽  
The State ◽  
Carceral State ◽  
National Programme

This article argues in favour of ‘coercive confinement’ as a useful addition to the criminological lexicon. It suggests that to properly understand a country’s level of punitiveness requires consideration of a range of institutions that fall outside the remit of the formal criminal justice system. It also requires a generous longitudinal focus. Using Ireland as a case study, such an approach reveals that since the foundation of the state, the prison has gradually become ascendant. This might be read to imply a punitive turn. But when a broader view is taken to include involuntary detention in psychiatric hospitals, confinement in Magdalen homes and mother and baby homes, and detention in industrial and reformatory schools, the trajectory is strongly downward. This might be read to imply a national programme of decarceration. (In recent years, asylum seekers have been held in congregate settings that are experienced as prison-like and they must be factored into the analysis.) While some of these institutions may have been used with peculiar enthusiasm in Ireland, none are Irish inventions. It would be profitable to extend the idea of ‘coercive confinement’ to other nations with a view to adding some necessary nuance to our understanding of the reach and grip of the carceral state.

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