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Civil Society Working Group on State Capture: Statement – Response to the Zondo Commission’s Report [24 January 2022]
Published: 24 Jan 2022
On the 4th of January 2022, the State Capture Inquiry (the Zondo Commission) submitted to the Presidency and publicly released the first of its three-part report. The report sheds light on the far-reaching facts that lay bare the extent of the rot, corruption and capture that have hollowed out the state’s institutions and coffers. The cost of state capture has been felt most severely by the people of South Africa who bear the brunt of the looting. Contemporary state capture has led to deepening levels of inequality, poverty and unemployment, amongst host of other challenges. It is unconscionable that constitutionally enshrined human rights such as health care, social security, housing and basic education have been compromised because of the actions of corrupt individuals and corporations.
Statement
RESEARCH REPORT: The Prosecution Service and the Provinces
Published: 10 Sep 2021
This paper explores the relationship between the provinces and the NPA by looking at the legal framework as well as a few case studies and examples of cooperation that have emerged. Recommendations are made for a way forward. Report by Lukas Muntingh
Report ACJR Report Prosecution ACJR Publication NPA
Journal Article: Africa, Prisons and COVID-19 Journal for Human Rights Practice; Volume 12, No 2
Author: Janelle
Published: 06 Jul 2021
Africa’s prisons are a long-standing concern for rights defenders given the prevalence of rights abuses, overcrowding, poor conditions of detention and the extent to which the criminal justice system is used to target the poor. The paper surveys 24 southern and east African countries within the context of COVID-19. Between 5 March and 15 April 2020 COVID-19 had spread to 23 southern and east African countries, except Lesotho. The overwhelming majority of these countries imposed general restrictions on their populations from March 2020 and nearly all restricted visits to prisons to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic and government responses demonstrated the importance of reliable and up to date data on the prison population, and any confined population, as it became evident that such information is sorely lacking. The World Health Organization recommended the release of prisoners to ease congestion, a step supported by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. However, the lack of data and the particular African context pose some questions about the desirability of such a move. The curtailment of prison visits by external persons also did away with independent oversight even in states parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). In the case of South Africa, prison monitors were not listed in the ensuing legislation as part of essential services and thus were excluded from access to prisons. In the case of Mozambique, it was funding being placed on hold by the donor community that prevented the Human Rights Commission from visiting prisons. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted long-standing systemic problems in Africa’s prisons. Yet African states have remained remarkably reluctant to engage in prison reform, despite the fact that poorly managed prisons pose a significant threat to general public health care.
COVID-19 PRISONS Africa ACJR Publication JOURNAL ARTICLE Correctional Facilities Peer-review
Journal article: Democratic policing: A conceptual framework
Author: Jean
Published: 22 Jun 2021
Democratic policing, as opposed to regime policing, must meet at least three requirements: there is democratic accountability of and for the police; the police adhere to the rule of law; and the police behave in a manner that is procedurally fair in service of the public. The article presents a conceptual framework of nine dimensions applicable to different contexts with a view to facilitate policies and practices towards democratic policing. It is argued that the ultimate result being sought is a legitimate police service. If legitimacy is the result, then trust is the outcome preceding it. Legitimacy is dependent on the public’s trust that State power will be used in the public interest. Public trust therefore fulfils an important legitimising function. Levels of trust in the police are driven by the police’s ability and performance record with reference to three outputs: objectivity, empathy and responsivity. The latter three outputs flow from five input variables, namely: knowledge of what works in creating a safer society from a policing perspective; rights-based policing; accountability of the policing (inclusive of transparency); efficiency and effectiveness of resource utilisation; and the police as citizens also entitled to rights and protections. The utility of the conceptual framework lies in providing a coherent and linked-up view to analyse police organisations and support the development of reform proposals.
ACJR Publication Policing Peer-review JOURNAL ARTICLE
Conference Report on Covid-19 and the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa, 14-15 September 2020
Author: Kristen
Published: 29 Mar 2021
From 14–16 September 2020, the Regional Campaign to Decriminalise Petty Offences in Africa co-hosted with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), an online conference to discuss the impact of measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 on poor and marginalised people. The conference brought together over 200 participants, and panelists shared both continent-wide perspectives, as well as country-specific examples from the Central African Republic, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda. The conference report is attached here for ease of reference. For more information on the campaign, please go to https://pettyoffences.org/
African Commission COVID-19 Decriminalisation Petty offences
Fact Sheet 9: Failing to discipline in SAPS
Author: Jean
Published: 28 Jan 2021
Recent media reports showed again how police officials grossly misused their power and, against departmental prescripts, used a 'sjambok' to assault a man for apparently not wearing a mask. Such reports are not isolated and have a very direct impact on trust in the police and thus the legitimacy of the police. The core of the problem seems to be twofold (1) that SAPS managers are not enforcing the internal disciplinary code, and (2) the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) very rarely prosecutes police officials, especially for human rights violations. We have updated ACJR Fact sheet 9 (originally published in February 2019) with statistics for the past two financial years and it appears that the situation has worsened. This does not bode well for general trust in the state and specifically in the police. There is little sense in tough talk about law enforcement when the police themselves are not being held accountable and increasingly regarded as hostile to the general public.
ACJR Publication South Africa Policing Fact Sheet Discipline
Folha Informativa 15 (Port.): Policiamento Democrático: Um Quadro Conceptual
Author: Tina
Published: 24 Jan 2021
Esta folha informativa discute o policiamento democrático como significando: (1) a obediência da Polícia ao Estado de Direito, (2) a responsabilização da Polícia, e (3) a justiça processual por parte da Polícia ao serviço do público. Nove dimensões necessárias ao policiamento democrático são identificadas, sendo que o resultado final pretendido é a confiança pública na Polícia, algo que resulta da sua legitimidade. O quadro conceptual apresentado não se destina apenas a descrever o policiamento democrático, mas também a orientar o planeamento estratégico nas organizações policiais, incluindo a Polícia da República de Moçambique (PRM).
REFORMAR Fact Sheet Mozambique Policing ACJR Publication
ACJR General Submission 1 on the draft SAPS Amendment Bill
Author: Jean
Published: 26 Nov 2020
This submission deals with two issues (1) Coordination across the criminal justice system (2) Priorities for reform in SAPS as they pertain to the draft SAPS Amendment Bill 2020.
ACJR Publication ACJR Submission
Research Report: Recommendations for reform of the National Prosecuting Authority
Published: 11 Nov 2020
Following from previous work, this report looks at seven areas of reform for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). By its own admission the NPA is facing a long list of challenges, internally and externally. This report proposes seven areas of reform that can over the short to medium term, if followed, make a substantial and constructive contribution to rebuilding trust in the NPA. The seven areas are: • the appointment of the NDPP and other senior officials • the dismissal of the NDPP • the prosecution policy directives • referrals from other agencies • informal mediation • structuring the clusters of the NPA • general oversight. An unavoidable conclusion is that law reform is needed since the current legal framework enabled the hollowing-out and misuse of the NPA. Report by Lukas Muntingh and Jean Redpath
Research Report ACJR Report ACJR Publication NPA
Alternatives to imprisonment in Mozambique: The implementation of community service orders
Published: 07 Oct 2020
In December 2020 a revised Penal Code and new Criminal Procedure Code and Code on the Implementation of Penalties will enter into force in Mozambique. While substantial changes related to alternatives to imprisonment and specifically to community service will be introduced, this report assesses the implementation of community service orders (CSO) in Mozambique between 2015 and 2019. It examines its use by the courts and implementation by the Department for Corrections. The findings point to several implementation problems, such as its infrequent if not rare use by the courts as well as challenges in monitoring offenders by the Service for Alternatives to Imprisonment. A number of systemic problems were found, such as the lack of management, procedural guidelines, and training; understaffing, and a serious lack of material and financial resources necessary for the effective implementation of CSO. Regardless of a new legal framework, it is submitted that valuable lessons need to be taken from the period under review. Based on the findings, the report concludes with recommendations to address the shortcomings.
Report ACJR Report Mozambique ACJR Publication Alternatives to imprisonment
Alternativas à prisão em Moçambique: A implementação do trabalho socialmente útil
Published: 07 Oct 2020
Em Dezembro de 2020 entrarão em vigor em Moçambique o Código Penal revisto, o novo Código de Processo Penal e o Código de Execução das Penas. Embora serão introduzidas mudanças substanciais relacionadas com as alternativas à prisão e especificamente ao trabalho socialmente útil (TSU), este relatório avalia a implementação do TSU em Moçambique entre 2015 e 2019. Examina o seu uso pelos tribunais e a implementação pelo Serviço Nacional Penitenciário (SERNAP). As conclusões apontam para vários problemas de implementação, como o seu uso pouco frequente pelos tribunais, bem como desafios na monitoria dos infractores pelo Serviço de Penas Alternativas à Pena de Prisão (SPAPP). Vários problemas sistémicos foram encontrados, como falta de gestão, directrizes processuais e formações e falta de recursos materiais e financeiros necessários para a implementação efectiva do TSU. Independentemente de uma nova estrutura legal, é evidente que será necessário retirar lições valiosas do período em análise. Nas conclusões, o relatório aponta algumas recomendações para abordar as deficiências. Reportado por Vanja Petrovic, Tina Lorizzo e Lukas Muntingh
Report ACJR Report Mozambique ACJR Publication Alternatives to imprisonment
Op-ed: Number of awaiting-trial prisoners increases under lockdown
Author: Jean
Published: 27 Jul 2020
At the start of SA’s lockdown, prisoners were released in a bid to reduce transmission of Covid-19 in prisons. The emphasis was on sentenced persons via special parole. Yet our most crowded facilities are remand centres, holding those awaiting trial. In the Western Cape, since April, there has been a worrying increase in remand imprisonment. What is causing this rise?
Op-ed
Fact Sheet 17: The right of prisoners to vote in Africa (Updated)
Author: Janelle
Published: 13 Jul 2020
This fact-sheet provides a brief update on the right of prisoners to vote in Africa. There have been substantive advances and breakthroughs in the promotion of this right as courts in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and most recently in Uganda have granted prisoners the right to vote. In Mozambique, the Ombudsman has made a recommendation that measures be put in place to allow prisoners to vote in future elections. The enfranchisement of prisoners is a positive step in the promotion of their basic human rights, it is therefore important that countries on the continent that are still lagging behind consider the above examples and follow suit.
ACJR Publication Prisoner Rights Fact Sheet Africa Vote Uganda
Fact Sheet 25: Arrest without a warrant in Malawi
Author: Janelle
Published: 12 May 2020
This fact sheet deals with arrest without a warrant in Malawi. Currently in Malawi there remain laws on the statutes that have not been tested against constitutional requirements resulting in all likelihood in arrests that are not compliant with the Constitution.
ACJR Publication Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 25: Arrest without a warrant in Malawi
Author: Janelle
Published: 12 May 2020
This factsheet focuses on arrest without a warrant in Malawi. Currently in Malawi there remain laws on the statutes that have not been tested against constitutional requirements resulting in all likelihood in arrests that are not compliant with the Constitution.
ACJR Publication Malawi Arrest Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 24: Arrest without a warrant in Kenya
Author: Janelle
Published: 12 May 2020
This fact sheet focuses on arrest without a warrant in Kenya. Currently in Kenya the situation has been complicated by the legislative powers granted to the counties and some have used this opportunity to expand policing powers.
ACJR Publication Fact Sheet
Op-ed: Prisons, overcrowding and preventing Covid-19 transmission
Author: Jean
Published: 30 Apr 2020
Over 163,000 people are in correctional facilities in South Africa. Outbreaks of Covid-19 in these prisons can have catastrophic consequences for both prisoners and the public healthcare system.
Op-ed COVID-19 ACJR Op-ed ACJR Publication
ACJR INFO SHEET 2: The COVID-19 lock-down simplified
Author: Janelle
Published: 16 Apr 2020
The regulations for the 21-day lock-down starting on midnight 26 March 2020 are set out here in a simplified manner.
news COVID-19 ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication Fact Sheet Lockdown
Resources on South African Criminal Justice System: Prisons
Author: Janelle
Published: 11 Mar 2020
Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) has produced research on the South African criminal justice system relating to prisons. This resource list contains summaries and links of work that we have produced in recent years on the topic of prisons.
ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication Prison South Africa Fact Sheet Justice System
Resources on South African Criminal Justice System: National Prosecuting Authority
Author: Janelle
Published: 11 Mar 2020
Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) has produced research on the South African criminal justice system relating to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). This resource list contains summaries and links of work that we have produced in recent years on the topic of the NPA.
Prosecution ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication NPA South Africa Fact Sheet
Resources on South African Criminal Justice System: Police
Author: Janelle
Published: 11 Mar 2020
Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) has produced research on the South African criminal justice system relating to the police. This resource list contains summaries and links of work that we have produced in recent years on the topic of police.
Policing ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication South Africa Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 16: Arrest without a warrant: Guidelines against arbitrary and unlawful arrests
Author: Lukas
Published: 05 Mar 2020
This fact sheet deals with the process of arrest without a warrant and aims to provide guidance on how police officers should test and use their discretion when contemplating an arrest without a warrant. The fact sheet is not country specific and describes the overall and generally accepted requirements for arrest without a warrant.
ACJR Publication Fact Sheet Arrest
Fact Sheet 13: Sector Policing: The SAPS' seminal strategy
Author: Janelle
Published: 05 Mar 2020
Sector policing is a decentralised, geographical, problem oriented and community-focused approach to policing. Simply put, it requires that every station precinct be divided into two or more sectors and that each sector be assigned a sector commander to coordinate and drive sector activities. In 2015 the South African Police Service (SAPS) published a Sector Policing Operational Guide, presenting a clear, in-depth overview of the sector police philosophy and how it should be implemented. This fact sheet reviews key tenets of sector policing as presented in the SAPS’ Sector Policing Operational Guidelines.
Fact Sheet Policing SAPS Democratic Policing
Fact Sheet 15: Democratic Policing: A Conceptual Framework
Author: Lukas
Published: 02 Mar 2020
This fact sheet discusses democratic policing as meaning (1) the police’s abidance to the rule of law, (2) accountability of the police, and (3) procedural fairness by the police in service of the public. Nine dimensions required for democratic policing are identified with the intended final outcome being public trust in the police which results in the police having legitimacy. The conceptual framework presented is not merely meant to describe democratic policing but rather to guide strategic planning in police organizations including the South African Police Service (SAPS). This relates in particular to the strategic objectives formulated in Medium Term Strategic Framework and annual performance plans with particular reference to the input variables and the outputs they need to deliver.
Policing ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication Democratic Policing Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 22: Arrest without a warrant in Zambia: Law reform to prevent arbitrary arrest
Author: Janelle
Published: 06 Feb 2020
This fact sheet deals with arrest without a warrant in Zambia. It highlights the legal framework governing arrest without a warrant, the shortcomings in the legislation as well as some challenges with implementation as is evident from case law. The fact sheet recommends that the Zambian Criminal Procedure Code Act and the Police Act are reviewed and that the provisions on arrest without a warrant are amended to comply with international best practice on arrest in accordance to the obligations of the African Charter which seek to protect the right of life, dignity, equality and security of all people.
ACJR Publication Fact Sheet Arrest Policing Zambia
Fact Sheet 23: Arrest without a warrant in Mozambique: Law reform to prevent arbitrary arrest
Author: Janelle
Published: 25 Oct 2019
This factsheet deals with the power to arrest without a warrant in Mozambique. A 2013-decision by the Constitutional Council of Mozambique resulted in significant changes in law on who can arrest without a warrant, thus reducing the risk of arbitrary arrest. These changes and other developments bode well for reform in the criminal justice system. However, resource constraints place a substantive limitation on the Mozambican criminal justice system in general and specifically on complying with the 2013-decision of the Constitutional Council.
ACJR Publication Fact Sheet Arrest Mozambique
Fact Sheet 23: Arrest without a warrant in Mozambique: Law reform to prevent arbitrary arrest
Author: Janelle
Published: 25 Oct 2019
This factsheet deals with the power to arrest without a warrant in Mozambique. A 2013-decision by the Constitutional Council of Mozambique resulted in significant changes in law on who can arrest without a warrant, thus reducing the risk of arbitrary arrest. These changes and other developments bode well for reform in the criminal justice system. However, resource constraints place a substantive limitation on the Mozambican criminal justice system in general and specifically on complying with the 2013-decision of the Constitutional Council.
Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 23: Arrest without a warrant in Mozambique: Law reform to prevent arbitrary arrest
Author: Janelle
Published: 25 Oct 2019
This factsheet deals with the power to arrest without a warrant in Mozambique. A 2013-decision by the Constitutional Council of Mozambique resulted in significant changes in law on who can arrest without a warrant, thus reducing the risk of arbitrary arrest. These changes and other developments bode well for reform in the criminal justice system. However, resource constraints place a substantive limitation on the Mozambican criminal justice system in general and specifically on complying with the 2013-decision of the Constitutional Council.
Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 23: Arrest without a warrant in Mozambique: Law reform to prevent arbitrary arrest
Author: Janelle
Published: 24 Oct 2019
This factsheet deals with the power to arrest without a warrant in Mozambique. A 2013-decision by the Constitutional Council of Mozambique resulted in significant changes in law on who can arrest without a warrant, thus reducing the risk of arbitrary arrest. These changes and other developments bode well for reform in the criminal justice system. However, resource constraints place a substantive limitation on the Mozambican criminal justice system in general and specifically on complying with the 2013-decision of the Constitutional Council.
Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 20: The role of prosecutors in dealing with petty offences
Author: Janelle
Published: 02 Oct 2019
This fact sheet addresses the role that prosecutors can play in dealing with offenders of minor crimes. It emphasizes the use of restorative justice approaches such as mediation, life skills programs and community service as a more appropriate way of dealing with minor offending rather than resorting to a criminal justice response.
Petty Offences ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication Prosecutor Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 19: The role of the police in dealing with petty offences
Author: Janelle
Published: 02 Oct 2019
This fact sheet addresses the role that law enforcement officials can play in dealing with offenders of minor crimes. It emphasizes the use of restorative justice approaches such as warnings and fines in combination with other programs as a more appropriate way of dealing with minor offending rather than resorting to a criminal justice response.
Petty Offences ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication Fact Sheet Police
Fact Sheet 21: The role of the court in dealing with petty offences
Author: Janelle
Published: 02 Oct 2019
This fact sheet addresses alternative ways in which offenders of minor crimes can be dealt with at a court level using a more restorative justice approach. It proposes various forms of non-custodial sanctions that the court can impose; for example, community service, good behaviour orders as well as the completion of life skills programs.
Petty Offences ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication Court Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 18: A guide to reading government annual reports
Author: Janelle
Published: 06 Sep 2019
Government departments use annual reports to report on their performance against set objectives stated in their Annual Performance Plans (APP) and the Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEF). Annual reports also serve the function of promoting accountability and transparency which should improve trust and confidence in government’s ability to deliver on services. It is especially for civil society organisations that annual reports can be invaluable when holding government accountable. There are, however, certain challenges that readers of annual reports encounter, most notably the fact that annual reports are generally long and complex. Furthermore, the issue of erroneous and intermittent reporting is cause of concern when it comes to analysing an annual report. This fact sheet serves as a guide on how to read government department annual reports and highlights key issues to consider.
ACJR Publication Fact Sheet Government Annual Report
Powers of arrest curtailed by Constitutional Council of Mozambique – the impact of the 2013 decision
Published: 02 Sep 2019
This report assesses the consequences of the 2013-decision of the Constitutional Council of Mozambique, which limits to judges the authority to order pre-trial detention for cases falling outside of flagrante delito (where the accused is caught in the act of committing the offence). Although the decision represents a progressive change in the jurisprudence of Mozambique’s highest court, judges, prosecutors and police encounter operational challenges in implementing the decision, in a country with a population of more than 28 million people. In 2017, there were 344 judges, 18 of which were Judges of Criminal Instruction, responsible for issuing warrants of arrest for cases outside of flagrante delito. Concerns were raised in relation to lack of financial and logistical resources for prosecutors, which are mandated to monitor the legality of police detention. As the criminal justice system is under-resourced, police officials have to wait for a judge to issue a warrant of arrest for cases falling outside of flagrante delito. Despite the decision, unlawful arrests continue to happen although there is anecdotal evidence that these have decreased. The 2013-decision has clarified who has the power to authorise arrest in these cases, but the situation is far from being resolved. Report by Tina Lorizzo and Vanja Petrovic
Report Arrest Mozambique ACJR Report ACJR Publication
ACJR Submission to the Zondo Commission on the National Prosecuting Authority
Author: Jean
Published: 24 Jun 2019
"The current legislation, structure, policies and operations of the NPA result in the outcome that few persons are convicted of serious crimes, and that state officials, in particular, are more likely to escape prosecution. That is, state officials experience impunity for rights violations and for offences related to state capture."
ACJR Publication ACJR Submission National Prosecuting Authority
Liberty not the only loss - The Socio-Economic Impact of Remand Detention in the Western Cape
Published: 28 May 2019
The evidence in this study suggests that the criminal procedural system metes out a disproportionate ‘punishment’ in the form of infringement of the socio-economic rights of the families of detainees, regardless of guilt or innocence.The study recommends a number of interventions to seek to ensure that remand detention is used only for short durations or when absolutely necessary, thereby minimising socio-economic harms. Report by Jean Redpath
Report Pre-trial detention ACJR Report Socio-economic impact ACJR Publication Socio-economic rights South Africa
Rights Behind Bars: A Study of Prison Conditions in Zimbabwe
Author: Jean
Published: 09 May 2019
The primary objectives of this study were to assess the compliance of selected prisons with international and domestic standards on conditions of detention; to consolidate the findings from the prison monitoring project conducted by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) and its membership; to make recommendations for reforms and propose key priority areas. This was from 2018 was publicized in May 2019.
Zimbabwe Prison Conditions
Fact Sheet 12: The independence and structure of the prosecuting authority
Author: Jean
Published: 19 Feb 2019
This factsheet maps the history and structure of the prosecution authority before and after 1994 showing that the independence of the prosecution authority oscillated between extreme points with reference to the relationship with the executive. The historical developments of the prosecution authority must be seen against the devolution and centralisation of prosecutorial power and its independence, or not, from political control and interference.
ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication National Prosecuting Authority South Africa Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 14: Visible policing: Clarifying concepts and expectations
Author: Jean
Published: 19 Feb 2019
This fact sheet unpacks the idea of visible policing in South Africa. In so doing, it highlights that the concept should be engaged with critically. It suggests that the SAPS sector policing philosophy, which is problem-oriented and data-led, should be the focus of the Visible Policing programme.
ACJR Publication Policing South Africa
Discussion Document: NPA Accountability, trust and public interest
Published: 19 Feb 2019
This discussion document deals with three key concepts associated with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and its relation to the public, namely accountability, public interest and trust. It is suggested that for the NPA to be regarded as a legitimate institution it needs to enjoy trust and in order to enjoy such trust, it needs to be seen and perceived to act in the public interest in an accountable manner.
ACJR Publication National Prosecuting Authority South Africa Fact Sheet ACJR Fact Sheet
Crianças em Conflito com a Lei em Moçambique
Published: 01 Jan 2019
Although this first edition published in 2015, this became available in electronic form in January 2019.
Report ACJR Report Mozambique ACJR Publication Child justice
Fact Sheet 7: The appointment and dismissal of the NDPP
Author: Jean
Published: 24 Oct 2018
The recent announcement by President Ramaphosa to call together a committee of experts to assist him to appoint a new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) is unprecedented, and an extremely important move in the right direction towards greater transparency and accountability at South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority. An earlier report by ACJR dealt in detail with the problems at the NPA and, amongst others, recommended that the appointment procedure of the NDPP be reformed. In this fact sheet the current procedure for the appointment and dismissal of the NDPP is set out and problems identified. This should inform debate and stimulate ideas on the reforms we would like to see.
ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication National Prosecuting Authority South Africa Fact Sheet
Solitary Confinement - A review of the legal framework and practice in five African countries
Author: Jean
Published: 23 Oct 2018
This report investigates the legal frameworks of five African countries (Kenya Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia) as they relate to the use of solitary confinement. The effect of long periods of solitary confinement have been shown to have severe impacts on a prisoner’s mental and physical well-being. The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has noted that the use of prolonged solitary confinement may amount to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in breach of Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In December 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules (‘2015 UNSMR’). The 2015 UNSMR addresses a key shortcoming in the protection and treatment of people in places of detention, as it, for the first time, sets down norms and limitations on the use of solitary confinement. The report concludes that there are major areas of non-compliance in each of the countries and this requires urgent attention.
S v Frederick & S v Maxhongo
Author: Jean
Published: 11 Jul 2018
S v Frederick & S v Maxhongo, Judgment on Review 11 July 2018, Review 18531 and Review 18532. The Court asked that in cases where there is a long history of drug use and abuse, the prosecution should rather request a probation officer’s report to investigate the accused’s circumstances and the desirability or not of prosecution.
South Africa Petty offences Drugs Alternatives to imprisonment Case law
ACJR Submission on the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Amendment Bill (2018)
Author: Jean
Published: 28 Jun 2018
It is our submission that the issue to be addressed, namely the independence of IPID also relates to the relationship between IPID and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and this submission focuses on that relationship as described in section 7(4-5) of the IPID Act. It will be submitted below that the effectiveness and impact of IPID is essentially at the mercy of the NPA.
ACJR Submission ACJR Publication IPID
Journal article: Modest beginnings, high hopes: The Western Cape Police Ombudsman
Published: 01 Jun 2018
In 2013 the Western Cape legislature passed the Western Cape Community Safety Act (WCCSA) to improve monitoring of and oversight over the police. One creation of the WCCSA is the Western Cape Police Ombudsman, which became operational in 2015. This article reviews its history and context, as well as results from its first year. The Police Ombudsman, the only one in the country, must be seen as one of the results of efforts by the opposition-held province to carve out more powers in the narrowly defined constitutional space, and in so doing to exercise more effective oversight and monitoring of police performance, and improve police–community relations. The Ombudsman must also be seen against the backdrop of poor police–community relations in Cape Town and the subsequent establishment of a provincial commission of inquiry into the problem, a move that was opposed by the national government, contesting its constitutionality. Results from the Ombudsman’s first 18 months in operation are modest, but there are promising signs. Nonetheless, the office is small and it did not do itself any favours by not complying with its legally mandated reporting requirements. By Lukas Muntingh
Policing ACJR Publication Peer-review
ACJR Submission on Parole in South Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 28 May 2018
In late May 2018 the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa hosted a roundtable to discuss its “Position paper: a revised parole system for South Africa”. Submissions were invited prior to the round table and ACJR made a submission critical of the position paper. Key problems identified, amongst others, are: the lack of quantitative data in the position paper making it difficult to formulate policy in the absence of fact; the large number of prisoners serving life imprisonment received scant attention; and that proposed separate legislation to govern parole may not solve problems in the current system.
ACJR Submission Parole ACJR Publication
Expungement of a criminal record: crimes committed by an adult
Author: Jean
Published: 15 May 2018
Since 2009 the Criminal Procedure Act provides for the expungement of certain criminal records depending on the sentence that was imposed. This fact sheet describes the requirements and process in relation to adults.
Criminal Record Expungement ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication Fact Sheet
Expungement of a criminal record: crimes committed by a child
Author: Jean
Published: 14 May 2018
The Child Justice Act since 2008 makes provision for the expungement of criminal records for offences committed by a child. Eligibility for expungement depends on the offence that was committed and certain offences cannot be expunged. This fact sheet describes the requirements and the process.
Criminal Record Expungement ACJR Fact Sheet ACJR Publication Fact Sheet
Kruse v S
Author: Jean
Published: 04 May 2018
There was a miscarriage of justice on several grounds, namely the denial of the accused’s right to a properly qualified interpreter, the refusal to allow his son to testify, and the negative bias of the presiding officer. The accused was not afforded a fair trial and his murder conviction therefore cannot stand.
Fair trial South Africa Disability
Developments in Addressing Torture in Mozambique
Published: 22 Mar 2018
This article assesses developments in the prevention and eradication of torture in Mozambique. Despite several positive efforts and advances made, acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment are still perpetrated by members of the security forces, especially police officials, often with impunity. The culture of impunity for such serious offences is a direct threat to human rights and the rule of law in the country and seriously compromises the country’s public integrity. Two issues are of deep concern and require more efforts by the state, namely: a) addressing impunity and ensuring prompt and impartial investigations of all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, and b) protecting victims and providing the necessary restitution, rehabilitation and compensation. In conclusion we provide recommendations on how to improve the situation. These are: engaging in outreach and advocacy; improving and strengthening the national legislative framework; strengthening institutions; developing mechanisms for the reporting of torture: monitoring and evaluating existing reporting mechanisms; improving conditions of detention; establishing effective oversight over places of detention, and by maintaining records to improve transparency and availability of information. Report by Tina Lorizzo and Vanja Petrovic
Report ACJR Report Mozambique ACJR Publication Torture
Op-Ed: Ngcobo is but one example of policing gone wrong
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Mar 2018
The events of Ngcobo are portrayed as unusual, maybe because few realise that rural former Transkei has a very high murder rate. Yet the South African Police Service allocates relatively few police officials to such areas. Now that SAPS members are among the dead, perhaps SAPS will reconsider.
Op-ed
Principles on the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences
Author: Jean
Published: 15 Nov 2017
In 2017, the Principles on the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa were adopted by the African Commission, becoming the latest development in a broader regional effort to articulate standards for acceptable human rights practices, specifically concerning matters of access to justice.These Principles seek to guide States on measures that can be taken to enhance human rights protections at the critical intersection of poverty and criminal justice.
African Commission Decriminalisation
Journal article: The SocioEconomic Impact of Pretrial Detention in Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia
Published: 04 Oct 2017
The presumed link between the rule of law and development suggests that an operational justice system is key to development. The research sought to understand and quantify how the decision to detain an accused person affects his or her socio-economic situation. Data was collected in Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia. The findings suggest that the use of the coercive power of the state exercised through the deprivation of an individual’s liberty has serious socio-economic consequences. While detention pending trial is justifiable sometimes, we argue that it is over-used, frequently resulting in excessively long detention. The deprivation of liberty interferes with the ability of individuals to be agents of their own development, infringing on socio-economic rights of individuals and their dependents. States can justify such infringements only if their coercive power is used within the ambit of democratic and rights-respecting laws complying with human rights standards. By Lukas Muntingh and Jean Redpath
Pre-trial detention Socio-economic impact ACJR Publication Socio-economic rights Peer-review
Bail and Bond in Zambia
Author: Kristen
Published: 13 Sep 2017
Challenges and Recommendations considering Legal and Administrative reforms
Bail and Bond Zambia
An Assessment of the National Prosecuting Authority - A Controversial Past and Recommendations for the Future
Published: 22 May 2017
Twenty years into democracy, the independence of the NPA, in particular the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), has become a highly contested and politicised issue. The Constitutional Court has noted that ‘[t]he constitutional obligation upon the State to prosecute those offences which threaten or infringe the rights of citizens is of central importance in our constitutional framework’. This report focuses on the substantive problems and dilemmas facing the NPA. In the discussion that follows the major challenges that the NPA is facing and have faced are set out. The report unpacks these and presents possible solutions and recommendations. Report by Lukas Muntingh, Jean Redpath and Kristen Petersen
Report ACJR Report ACJR Publication National Prosecuting Authority Assessment Independence Oversight
The Socio-economic Impact of Pre-trial detention in Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia
Author: Jean
Published: 08 Feb 2017
In many countries people accused of crimes are held in detention before trial. The law permits this detention usually in order to guarantee the appearance of the accused at trial. This project seeks to confirm and quantify the socio-economic impact of such pre-trial detention on detainees, their families, and associated households, in the main urban centres of Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia.
ACJR Publication Research Socio-economic impact Pre-trial detention
An Audit of the Criminal Justice System in Kenya
Author: Jean
Published: 23 Jan 2017
The 2010 Constitution ushered in a new era for governance in Kenya, with notable emphasis on rights codified in the Bill of Rights under Chapter Four of the Constitution. It is against this background that, under the auspices of the National Council on Administration of Justice (NCAJ), the Legal Resources Foundation Trust (LRF) and Resources Oriented Development Initiatives (RODI-Kenya) - with technical support from University of Western Cape South Africa - CSPRI and financial support from Open Society Foundations - partnered to conduct an audit study on Kenya’s Criminal Justice System. The focus was on pretrial detention with specific emphasis on conditions of detention and case-flow management. The audit was commissioned by the NCAJ Council on the 15th May, 2015 and thereafter conducted under the supervision of an NCAJ National Steering Committee, comprising of members drawn from the various agencies of the Criminal Justice System.
ACJR Publication Research Kenya
Journal Article: Ten years after the Jali Commission: The state of South Africa's prisons
Published: 01 Dec 2016
Ten years have lapsed since the Jali Commission’s final report became publicly available, and it is therefore an opportune time to assess the state of South Africa’s prison system. The Jali Commission was appointed when it became clear that the state had lost control of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). A decade on, some notable advances have been made in regaining control, and addressing corruption and maladministration. However, serious and persistent challenges remain. These are explored in this article, with a particular focus on policy development, the performance of the DCS against set targets, governance and human rights violations. In all four of these areas substantial shortcomings remain. Impunity for human rights violations is perhaps the most critical challenge, as the DCS has been reluctant to acknowledge the scale of this problem or to seriously address it. By Lukas Muntingh
ACJR Publication Prison Peer-review
Constitution de la Côte d'Ivoire (2016)
Author: Gwen
Published: 16 Oct 2016
Côte d'Ivoire's current constitution was adopted in October 2016. La dernière Constitution de Côte d'Ivoire fut adoptée en octobre 2016.
Legislation Cote d'Ivoire
A Comparative Study of Bail Legislation in Malawi, Mozambique and Burundi
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Oct 2016
The deprivation of liberty is a serious intervention in any person’s life, and therefore the possibility of releasing an accused person from custody pending trial is a fundamental part of criminal justice systems across the world. Criminal justice systems have developed various ways to ensure, at least in law, that accused persons appear for trial without depriving them of their liberty. Such release may be conditional or unconditional. Unconditional release usually takes the form of a warning to appear in court at a later date, while conditional release can be secured through bail, bond, surety, and supervision. This paper reviews the laws on conditional release in Burundi, Malawi and Mozambique. These three countries were selected on the basis that they represent not only different types of legal systems but Francophone, Anglophone and Lusophone legal traditions, respectively. --
ACJR Publication Research Bail Malawi Mozambique Burundi
Constitutionnalité des lois relatives à la procédure pénale et à la détention en Afrique: Côte d’Ivoire
Author: Jean
Published: 02 Oct 2016
A la suite de l'adoption de conventions internationales des droits de l'homme dans la deuxième moitié du dernier siècle et de nouvelles constitutions à la fin du 20e siècle, la question se pose de savoir si les droits reconnus dans ces conventions et constitutions sont reconnus dans la législation applicable. Dès lors, ce rapport examine la question de la constitutionnalité du droit pénal et du droit de la procédure pénale en Côte d'Ivoire. Une étude comparative des cadres normatifs au Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique et Zambie est également disponible en anglais.
ACJR Publication Constitutionality Research
Constitutionality of Criminal Procedure and Prison Laws in Africa: Zambia
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Oct 2016
Zambia’s Constitution contains an enforceable Bill of Rights, one which mainly lists civil and political rights that constrain state power. Having human rights enshrined in an enforceable manner in the Constitution is important, because the validity of other laws is measured by their conformity to the Constitution.
ACJR Publication Constitutionality Research Zambia
Constitutionality of Criminal Procedure and Prison Laws in Africa Kenya 2
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Oct 2016
Kenya’s 2010 Constitution is liberal with regard to the rights of persons in the country’s criminal justice system. Its notable novel provisions include the entrenchment of the rights to fair trial and habeas corpus and the separation of criminal investigations and prosecutions under two independent systems. The country’s penal and criminal procedure laws predate the Constitution.
ACJR Publication Constitutionality Research Kenya
Constitutionality of Criminal Procedure and Prison Laws in Africa: Kenya
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Oct 2016
Kenya’s 2010 Constitution is liberal with regard to the rights of persons in the country’s criminal justice system.This study identifies conformity gaps between, on the one hand, constitutional protections of the rights of arrested, accused and detained persons and, on the other, statutory criminal procedure requirements. The starting-point is the Constitution and, accordingly, the study is concerned with provisions in criminal procedure law that are directly or indirectly within the scope of application of an explicit right in the Constitution.
ACJR Publication Constitutionality Research Kenya
Constitutionality of Criminal Procedure and Prison Laws in Africa: Côte d’Ivoire
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Oct 2016
The adoption by referendum of Law No. 2000.515 of 1 August 2000 establishing the Constitution of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire must be understood against the political backdrop of that time. It resulted from the need to restore state’s institutions after the coup of 24 December 1999 and to prepare for the presidential election of October 2000. Many national and international observers agree that the Ivorian Constitution of 2000 is an essential text establishing minimum standards. Observers also consider that the Constitution broadly incorporates the main principles established by the conventions and treaties that Côte d’Ivoire has signed since 1960. In criminal matters, none of the major pieces of legislation (the CCP, the CC and the PA Decree) has been modified and updated in the light of the new Constitution.
ACJR Publication Constitutionality Research Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast
Constitutionality of Criminal Procedure and Prison Laws in Africa A comparative study of Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Oct 2016
This study reviews 41 rights of arrested, accused and detained persons under Burundian, Ivorian, Kenyan, Mozambican and Zambian law. These countries were chosen because they represent Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone Africa as well as countries that have a civil law and common law tradition. The study begins by reviewing 17 rights of those arrested and detained in police custody; it goes on to examine 18 rights of accused persons; and ends by considering six rights of those detained in prison on remand or as sentenced prisoners. Each right is examined from three angles: first, whether it is recognised under international human rights law; secondly, to what extent the right is enshrined in the domestic constitution of the jurisdiction under review; and thirdly, to what extent the right is upheld and developed in subordinate legislation.
ACJR Publication Constitutionality Research Kenya Burundi Mozambique Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast Zambia
Constitutionality of Criminal Procedure and Prison Laws in Africa: Burundi
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Oct 2016
The purpose of this study is to briefly examine major developments in Burundi’s criminal procedure legislation and prison laws since the adoption of its 2005 Constitution and to assess how these developments may have impacted on human rights. In effect, this study seeks to understand whether subordinate legislation in Burundi is in line with constitutional provisions and international standards relating to procedural safeguards for arrested and detained persons.
ACJR Publication Constitutionality Research Burundi
Constitutionality of Criminal Procedure and Prison Laws in Africa: Mozambique
Author: Jean
Published: 29 Sep 2016
This report looks at the constitutionality of criminal procedure and prison laws in Mozambique. The research aims at assessing and analysing the extent to which the 2004 constitutional rights have been translated into subordinate legislation and possibly regulations.
Criminal procedure Constitutionality Research Mozambique
Formalising the role of paralegals in Africa: A review of legislative and policy developments
Author: Jean
Published: 31 Aug 2016
Paralegals have an important role to play in criminal justice systems throughout Africa. In many countries the effective use of paralegals is inhibited by a lack of formal recognition. Changes to domestic legislative frameworks are necessary to empower paralegals in their work with persons in conflict with the law at police stations, court rooms and prisons.It is hoped that this report will serve as an impetus for debate and advocacy on this important issue. This report reviews the work and legal framework of paralegals in 11 countries, being Burundi, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
ACJR Publication Paralegals Research
African Innovations in Pre-trial Justice
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Aug 2016
This review seeks to showcase innovative interventions to reduce pre-trial detention in African countries, so that they may be adapted for use in other low and lower-middle income countries.
ACJR Publication Research
Trends in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion
Author: Jean
Published: 22 Jun 2016
Armchair discussion on the National Prosecuting Authority, 22 November 2016, Jean Redpath
National Prosecuting Authority Presentation ACJR Publication Prosecution South Africa
Reformar
Author: Jean
Published: 17 Apr 2016
Reformar (Research for Mozambique) carries out research in criminal justice reform in Mozambique.
Partners Mozambique Reformar
Submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: Thematic Alternate report on Criminal Justice and Human Rights in South Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Apr 2016
Submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in response to South Africa’s Second Periodic Report under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to be reviewed at the 58th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
African Commission ACJR Publication ACJR Submission South Africa
Submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: Thematic Alternate report on Criminal Justice and Human Rights in South Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Apr 2016
Submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in response to South Africa’s Second Periodic Report under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to be reviewed at the 58th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
African Commission ACJR Publication ACJR Submission
Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee: Overview of cross cutting issues in Alternate Reports on South Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Mar 2016
This overview of cross cutting issues emanates from five alternate thematic reports submitted by civil society organisations (the Alternate Reports) in response to the Initial Report by South Africa (the State Report), to be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Committee during its 116th session. The Alternate Reports which provided the basis for this overview are:  Recognition of Civil and Political Rights: A continued struggle for Transgender and Intersex Persons in South Africa  Shadow Report on Participatory Democracy to South Africa’s State Report and their Responses to the List Of Issues On The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights (ICCPR)  Thematic Report on Criminal Justice and Human Rights in South Africa  Thematic Report on the Rights of Migrants and Asylum Seekers in South Africa  Thematic Report on Violence Against Women and LGBTI Persons in South Africa
International legal instrument UN Committee South Africa ACJR Publication ACJR Submission
Constructing pre-trial detention indicators for African contexts: Problems and proposals
Author: Jean
Published: 04 Nov 2015
This discussion paper arose from the conundrum faced by a paralegal organisation working in an African country in demonstrating both that pre-trial detention is a problem in that country, and that their work has an impact on the problem. The indicators currently employed by states and organisations relating to pre-trial detention have a range of shortcomings in the African context. These shortcomings need to be understood in interpreting indicator values. Indicators should be adjusted, and additional indicators should be incorporated into data collection practice in order to provide a more complete and accurate picture of pre-trial detention in Africa. This paper is intended as a starting point for a broader discussion of the pitfalls and possibilities for the development of indicators in relation to pre-trial detention in Africa
ACJR Publication Pre-trial detention
Constructing pre-trial detention indicators for African contexts: Problems and proposals
Author: Jean
Published: 04 Nov 2015
This discussion paper arose from the conundrum faced by a paralegal organisation working in an African country in demonstrating both that pre-trial detention is a problem in that country, and that their work has an impact on the problem. The indicators currently employed by states and organisations relating to pre-trial detention have a range of shortcomings in the African context. These shortcomings need to be understood in interpreting indicator values. Indicators should be adjusted, and additional indicators should be incorporated into data collection practice in order to provide a more complete and accurate picture of pre-trial detention in Africa. This paper is intended as a starting point for a broader discussion of the pitfalls and possibilities for the development of indicators in relation to pre-trial detention in Africa
Indicators ACJR Publication
Arrested in Africa: An exploration of the issues
Published: 01 Nov 2015
Recent research and advocacy efforts have drawn attention to the excessive use of and prolonged pre-trial detention in Africa. At any given moment there are roughly 1 million people in Africa’s prisons. Far more move through prisons each year. Their stay in prison, regardless of duration, starts with being arrested. Substantially more people are arrested than those who end up in prison for pre-trial detention. Pre-trial detention figures are thus a poor indicator of contact with the criminal justice system. The purpose of arrest and subsequent detention of a suspect is essentially to ensure the attendance of the person in court or for another just cause. The police’s powers of arrest are, in theory, curtailed to the extent that the arresting officer must be able to provide reasons for the arrest and continued police detention. Police officials have considerable discretion in executing arrests, especially when arresting without a warrant. This exploratory report focuses on arresting without a warrant and starts off with setting out the legal requirements in this regard by way of a case study. In order to understand current arrest practices, the report provides a brief description of the history of policing in Africa and concludes that much of what was established by the colonial powers has remained intact, emphasising high arrest rates, a social disciplinarian mode of policing, supported by myriad petty offences that justify arrest without a warrant. This combination enables widespread corruption and results in negative perceptions of the police. The report further argues that given the wide discretionary powers of the police to arrest without a warrant, it follows that not all people are at an equal risk of arrest, but rather that it is the poor, powerless and out-groups that are at a higher risk of arrest based on non-judicial factors. The report concludes with a number of recommendations calling for further research, decriminalisation of certain offences and restructuring of the police in African countries. Report by Lukas Muntingh
Report Research ACJR Report ACJR Publication
Submission to South Africa's Parliament - 2015 strategic planning session
Author: Gwen
Published: 21 Sep 2015
This submission to the South African parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services' strategic planning session addresses the issues of long periods of pre-trial detention, low prosecution rates, the independence of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, human rights abuses in prison, sentencing reform and effective prison oversight.
JICS Torture Sentencing reform South Africa Prosecution ACJR Publication Pre-trial Oversight ACJR Submission
Sex worker paralegals
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Sep 2015
Former sex workers affiliated to the Sisonke Sex Worker's Movement have been trained as paralegals by the Women's Legal Centre to provide paralegal advice and assistance to sex workers
Partners Paralegals South Africa Women
Journal Article: Unconscionable and irrational: SAPS human resource allocation
Published: 01 Sep 2015
The Khayelitsha Commission revealed that areas that are predominantly populated by people who are poor and black are systematically allocated only a small fraction of the average per capita allocation of police personnel in the Western Cape. These areas also suffer among the highest rates of murder and serious violent crime in the province. The allocation of human resources to policing impinges on various constitutional rights. Given the inequity and irrationality apparent in the allocation of police personnel, the Khayelitsha Commission recommended that this method be urgently revised. This article reviews the evidence heard on the allocations and the method currently used to allocate police personnel, suggests an alternative method, and calls on the government to heed the recommendation of the Khayelitsha Commission that the state urgently revise its method of allocation of policing resources. By Jean Redpath and Fairouz Nagia-Luddy
Policing ACJR Publication Peer-review
Submission to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services
Author: Jean
Published: 18 Aug 2015
This submission deals with South Africa’s performance in relation to, and compliance with, international standards with reference to offender management, offender rehabilitation and independent monitoring, as was requested by the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services (the Portfolio Committee).
International legal instrument ACJR Publication ACJR Submission South Africa
Pocket Guide to Arrest and Detention in Malawi
Author: Jean
Published: 31 Jul 2015
This guide is for anyone who needs a quick reference to the laws around arrest and detention in Malawi. This may include police, court clerks, prosecutors, magistrates, paralegals and detainees. First there is an orientation to the criminal justice system and a diagram and summary of what happens in Malawi around arrest and detention, page 1. The main part of the book focuses on what the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code says. It starts with when and how arrest can happen and possibilities for release at the police station, page 4. This is followed by a section on how things happen in court and how people can be released by the court, page 12. There are special sections on the arrest and release of children, pages 7 and 11. There is also a list of children’s offences that are considered serious, see page 34, and there is a section on the maximum times allowed for the commencement and duration of trial, page 16. The rights of every person in Malawi, as well as the specific rights of those who have been arrested and detained are described, pages 18 - 21. The meanings of legal words can be found in the glossary near the back, page 22. At the very back is a long list of all the offences for which someone can be arrested in Malawi. These offences are divided into those that need a warrant for arrest, and those that do not, page 26
ACJR Publication Malawi Arrest Detention
Fact Sheet: Solitary Confinement and Segregation
Author: Jean
Published: 31 Jul 2015
This fact sheet considers South African and International Law on the issue of solitary confinement and segregation.
ACJR Publication Fact Sheet ACJR Fact Sheet Solitary confinement
Challenging disadvantage in Zambia: People with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities in the criminal justice system
Author: Jean
Published: 23 Jul 2015
This project investigated how individuals with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities are dealt with by the criminal justice system in Zambia, and developed recommendations for improving policy and practice. The project was undertaken by a consortium of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) comprising the Paralegal Alliance Network (PAN), Mental Health Users Network Zambia (MHUNZA), the Prisons Care and Counselling Association (PRISCCA), the Zambia Federation of Disability Organisations (ZAFOD), the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) and the UK-based Prison Reform Trust. The work was funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Human Rights Initiative at the Open Society Foundations, and was overseen by a steering committee chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Zambia Research
Presentation on constructing indicators
Author: Jean
Published: 21 May 2015
This is the presentation made by Jean Redpath on an introduction to indicators at a seminar held in Cape Town in May 2015.
ACJR Publication Indicators Presentation
Presentation on an introduction to indicators
Author: Jean
Published: 20 May 2015
This is the presentation made by Jean Redpath on an introduction to indicators at a seminar held in Cape Town on 20 May 2015
ACJR Publication Indicators Presentation
Muitos problemas que comprometem os direitos dos reclusos em prisão preventiva
Author: Jean
Published: 01 May 2015
Este artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa realizada em Maputo, em 2012, sobre a prisão preventiva. As condições de reclusão e de acesso à representação legal de um grupo de reclusos que aguardam julgamento são analisados dentro do contexto do sistema penitenciário então em vigor em Moçambique. Enquanto a autora está ciente de que o quadro jurídico-legal do sistema penitenciário avançou nos últimos três anos, a pesquisa mostra que as condições de reclusão e acesso à representação legal de um grupo de pessoas em prisão preventiva em 2012 não respondiam aos princípios internacionais e nacionais que regulavam o sistema penitenciário no país.
Mozambique Research
Measuring Pre-trial Justice: A comprehensive approach
Author: Jean
Published: 18 Mar 2015
This fact sheet was based on indicators developed by the Latin America Network for Pretrial Justice through country studies, analysis from past experience and a series of regional expert meetings.
Indicators ACJR Publication
Lawyer at the Police Station Door: How REPLACE Provides Legal Aid in Nigeria
Author: Jean
Published: 16 Mar 2015
The central element of the project, the Police Duty Solicitors Scheme (PDSS), sought to reduce the excessive use of pretrial detention by providing free legal advice to suspects at police stations—the point at which the decision to detain or to release pending trial is made. This 12-page illustrated briefing summarizes the successes achieved.
Legal Aid Nigeria Policing Paralegals Research
Innovative Efforts, Proven Results: How Timap for Justice Provides Legal Aid in Sierra Leone
Author: Jean
Published: 16 Mar 2015
In 2009, Timap for Justice began an innovative project to provide frontlinel legal assistance to pretrial detainees, using local community members who have received basic legal training as paralegals. The results have been impressive: Timap’s paralegals have succeeded in getting inappropriate charges dropped in 28 percent of cases, and have secured bail for an additional 55 percent of suspects
Sierra Leone Paralegals Research
A Survey Report on the Application of Bond and Bail Legislation in Zambia 2014
Author: Jean
Published: 07 Jan 2015
This report by the Zambian Human Rights Commission was based on a survey conducted to collect information on factors affecting access and conditions regarding bail among people found to be in conflict with the law in Zambia. The findings are meant to provide a basis for the review of current bail legislation relating to bail conditions in Zambia by promoting easy access for suspects or inmates to bail regardless of their social and economic conditions.
Zambia Bail ACJR Publication Research
Evidence obtained through violating the right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in South Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Jan 2015
This article was published in AHRLJ Volume 15 No 1 2015. Although South African courts have expressly held that any evidence obtained through torture is always inadmissible, the author is unaware of a decision from a South African court to the effect that evidence obtained through cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment is, like evidence obtained through torture, inadmissible in all circumstances. In this article, the author first deals with the issue of evidence obtained through torture and thereafter relies on the practice of international and regional human rights bodies, such as the Committee against Torture, the Human Rights Committee, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, the European Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and some of the sections of the South African Constitution, to argue that South Africa has an international obligation to exclude any evidence obtained through cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In support of this argument, the author relies on the jurisprudence of the South African Supreme Court of Appeal on the nature of the right to freedom from torture and argues that the same approach could be applied to the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
Fair trial ACJR Publication South Africa Torture Research
Time Limits Poster
Author: Jean
Published: 03 Dec 2014
This poster explains the various time limits which apply to arrest and detention in criminal procedure in Malawi.
ACJR Publication Multimedia Malawi
Release at Court Poster
Author: Jean
Published: 03 Dec 2014
This poster explains how an arrested person can be released at court in Malawi criminal procedure.
ACJR Publication Multimedia Malawi
Constitutional Rights Poster
Author: Jean
Published: 03 Dec 2014
This poster explains some of the rights contained in Malawi's Constitution.
ACJR Publication Multimedia Malawi
Women in Pre-trial Detention in Africa
Published: 07 Nov 2014
This is a publication of of the project 'Promoting Pre-trial Detention in Africa' (PPJA). The objective of this review is to explore existing literature in respect of the reasons for female remand detention in Africa and the challenges women experience in prison. The biggest challenge to compiling this review was the lack of centralised and comprehensive statistics. The subject is under-researched and statistics referred to represent snapshot data obtained either from the database of the International Centre for Prison Studies or from various ad hoc reports. Literature pertaining to South Africa was available, but authoritative studies from less developed countries do not exist, or were last undertaken as long ago as the 1980s. The failure of states to allocate resources to female detainees and the absence of consistent and clear policies and legislation around the issues they commonly encounter suggest a lack of awareness or a lack of political will to improve the situation. Report by Marilize Ackermann
Research Report Pre-trial detention ACJR Report ACJR Publication Women
Submission to South Africa's Parliament on the DCS 2013/14 Annual Report
Author: Jean
Published: 15 Sep 2014
This submission discusses the 2013/14 Department of Correctional Services (South Africa) Annual Report. More specifically, it discusses human rights violations in prison (including allegations of torture), the mandate of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, rehabilitation and the review of the White Paper on Corrections, the SIU investigation into corruption in prison, lengthy pre-trial detention and leadership instability.
Torture South Africa Rehabilitation DCS ACJR Publication Pre-trial Corruption ACJR Submission
Handbook on Juvenile Law In Zambia
Author: Jean
Published: 31 Aug 2014
This publication by Zambia's Centre for Law and Justice, Cornell Law School’s Avon Global Center for Women and Justice, and Cornell Law School's International Human Rights Clinic offers a compendium of Zambian juvenile law, including the processing of juveniles in the criminal justice system. It synthesizes relevant constitutional and statutory law, case law, and international human rights law and highlights best practices that practitioners may consider when working on matters involving juveniles.
Child justice Zambia Guide Research
The African Commission’s Guidelines on Pre-trial Detention: Implications for Angola and Mozambique
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Aug 2014
On 8 May 2014, in Luanda (Angola), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) adopted the Guidelines on the Use and Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-trial Detention in Africa. Shortly after the adoption of the Guidelines, the Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative (CSPRI) of the Community Law Centre at the University of Western Cape (South Africa) co-hosted on 21-22 May 2014 a workshop in partnership with the Mozambican Institute of Legal Aid (Instituto de Patrocínio e Assistência Jurídica, IPAJ), in Maputo, to begin a debate on the implementation of the Guidelines in Mozambique and Angola.
ACJR Publication Research
Journal Article: Unsustainable and unjust: Criminal justice policy and remand detention since 1994
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Jun 2014
The ‘tough on crime’ approach embodied in bail and sentencing law has had a profound impact on the trends around remand detention, including prison overcrowding of such an extent that it is estimated to have contributed to an additional 8 500 natural deaths in custody. Ultimately the policies have led, in practice, to an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ effect: fewer people are being tried and sentenced, while more than ever are denied their freedom without ever being tried in a court of law.
Research Peer-review ACJR Publication
Kiwanuka John v Uganda, Miscellaneous Application No. 213 of 2013 (High Court of Uganda at Nakawa)
Author: Jean
Published: 04 Mar 2014
"I take note that whereas the Applicant herein has not proved Exceptional Circumstances, which I have already noted is not mandatory as per Section 15 T.I.A see Foundation for Human Rights Initiatives vs. Attorney General (supra), I have put into consideration the period spent by the Applicant on remand that is from the time of his committal to the High Court on 9th/11/2011 to date and noticed that his detention was unduly prolonged given his condition of ailments. In the given circumstances, I take cognizance of the International Human rights treaties to which Uganda is a signatory where emphasis has been put on the distinction between people who have been found guilty, those convicted by a Court of law and sentenced to imprisonment and those who have not."
Case law Uganda
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku March 2014
Author: jacob
Published: 02 Mar 2014
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from June 2012 on governance and corruption, parole and sentencing, unsentenced prisoners, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad, rehabilitation, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days
CSPRI Newsletter No. 45
Author: Gwen
Published: 01 Mar 2014
Safety and security: Do the ANC and the DA advocate for more of the same or a shift in policy? This newsletter discusses the policy recommendations of the ANC and the DA on crime prevention and crime combating contained in their respective electoral documentation, in the wake of the next general election.
ACJR Newsletter Newsletter
Protecting the right to personal liberty in Namibia: Constitutional, delictual and comparative perspectives
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Feb 2014
This article was published in AHRLJ Volume 14 No 2 2014. Although the recent Supreme Court of Namibia cases of Alexander v Minister of Home Affairs & Others and Gawanas v Government of the Republic of Namibia were not merely decided under the Criminal Procedure Act 1977 (Namibia), but in terms of special statutes, namely, the Extradition Act 11 of 1996 and the Mental Health Act 18 of 1973 respectively, they nonetheless involved the determination by the Court of the individual right to personal liberty in terms of article 7 of the Constitution of Namibia of 1990, thus bringing the Court face to face with balancing the right to personal liberty against the public interest in the enforcement of the law. Alexander could properly be described as consisting of two parts: the trial judge’s treatment of the limitation clause in the Namibian Constitution, which survived on appeal, and the Supreme Court judgment which turned on the problem of granting bail in the circumstances of extradition proceedings. While Gawanas is a classic illustration of bureaucratic negligence, both cases involve the protection of personal liberty of the individual as against legislative interference and infringement by the agents of state. The lesson emerging therefrom is that the protection of personal liberty under the Namibian Constitution extends to persons, to citizens, foreigners within Namibia and to someone with some form of disability. The other lesson emanating from this study is that a person whose right to personal liberty or dignity has been infringed can ventilate that breach by way of judicial review, contesting the legality of the law or under the principles of administrative justice in the Constitution or the law of delict, alleging wrongfulness, fault and damage.
Namibia Research
Constitution of the Tunisian Republic (2014)
Author: Jean
Published: 26 Jan 2014
This document constitutes a non-official translation of the text of the Constitution submitted for adoption, in plenary session of the National Constituent Assembly, on January 26, 2014. This translation is provided by the UNDP Project Supporting the Constitutional Process, the National Assembly and the National Dialogue With the financial contribution of Japan, Belgium, the European Union, Sweden, Norway, Denmark,Switzerland and UNDP.
Tunisia Legislation
Newsletter 7: Women in pre-trial detention in DRC; Conditions at Mpimba Prison; Legal assistance for detainees in Angola; Uniforms for remand detainees in South Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 22 Jan 2014
In this edition of the PPJA Newsletter we look at: * Women in pre-trial detention: Held for their partners' crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo * Conditions at Mpimba Prison in Bujumbura: Failure to separate men and women and overcrowding * Legal Assistance for detainees in Angola: NGO gains access to impoverished detainees * Uniforms for remand detainees in South Africa: Pilot uniforms launched
PPJA Newsletter PPJA Newsletter
Kettie Kamwangala v Republic, Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, Criminal Appeal No.6 of 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 14 Jan 2014
"In our view there was only one issue before the court. This is namely whether or not to release the appellant on bail. And in keeping with the law the High Court should have asked itself one and only one question namely: whether or not it was in the interests of justice that the appellant continues to be in detention."
Case law Malawi
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku November 2013
Author: jacob
Published: 04 Dec 2013
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from June 2012 on governance and corruption, parole and sentencing, unsentenced prisoners, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad, rehabilitation, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Survey of Detention Visiting Mechanisms in Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 03 Dec 2013
People held in places of detention are at risk of suffering violations of human rights because they are usually detained out of sight and their well-being is not prioritised by states. Domestic and international laws prescribe the procedures through which and conditions under which people may be held in detention. The function of detention oversight institutions is to ensure that state institutions comply with these human rights laws and are held accountable for any non-compliance.
Research Oversight Prisons
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku September 2013
Author: jacob
Published: 04 Nov 2013
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from June 2012 on governance and corruption, parole and sentencing, unsentenced prisoners, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad, rehabilitation, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku October 2013
Author: jacob
Published: 04 Nov 2013
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from June 2012 on governance and corruption, parole and sentencing, unsentenced prisoners, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad, rehabilitation, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Newsletter 6: Estimating the average duration of pre-trial detention; Criminal procedural provisions unconstitutional in Mozambique; PPJA report on detention oversight
Author: Jean
Published: 07 Oct 2013
In this edition of the PPJA newsletter: • A back-of-the-envelope method of estimating the average duration of pre-trial detention • An explanation of the implications of sections of criminal procedural law affecting pre-trial detention being found unconstitutional in Mozambique • A preview of a soon-to-be released PPJA report on detention oversight through visiting mechanisms in Africa.
PPJA Newsletter PPJA Newsletter
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku August 2013
Author: jacob
Published: 01 Oct 2013
This edition of 30 Days covers news items from May 2013, covering prison conditions, sentencing and parole, corruption and governance, rehabilitation, and other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Understanding impunity in the South African law enforcement agencies
Author: Jean
Published: 22 Aug 2013
The probability that law enforcement officials will be held accountable for gross rights violations is very low. The reasons for this are discussed in this report. The report argues that there is no single reason for the current situation but rather that a myriad of factors, structural and functional, contribute to a greater or a lesser degree to the current situation. The authors contend that it would be inaccurate and superficial depiction to lay the blame at the door of only one institution, as this would ignore the effect of other factors. Moreover, the problem of rights violations and concomitant impunity is widespread and pervasive, and for this reason it is increasingly unconvincing for government to explain such cases as being the work of "a few rotten apples".
Report Research
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku July 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 02 Aug 2013
This edition of 30 Days covers news items from July 2013, covering prison conditions, sentencing and parole, rehabilitation, South Africans imprisoned abroad, and other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
No Justice for the Poor
Author: Jean
Published: 09 Jul 2013
This is a Preliminary Study of the Law and Practice Relating to Arrests for Nuisance-Related Offences in Blantyre, Malawi, by the Southern African Litigation Centre and the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA), funded by the Open Society Foundation for Southern Africa and the United Nations Democracy Fund.
Malawi Research
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku June 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 03 Jul 2013
This edition of 30 Days covers news items from June 2013, covering prison conditions, sentencing and parole, corruption and governance, rehabilitation, and other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Prison Management and Conditions of Detention
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Jun 2013
Good prison management can vastly improve conditions of detention in the context of scarce resources, which are often present in Africa, and protect detainees from assault and ill-treatment.
Conditions Prisons Detention
Prevention of Torture
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Jun 2013
The right not to be subject to torture and other ill-treatment is non-derogable; no one may be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment under any circumstance, including during times of war or public emergency. Pre-trial detainees are highly at risk of torture and ill-treatment.
Torture Prevention
Newsletter 5: Pre-trial detention in West Africa; guidelines on police custody and pre-trial detention; audit of pre-trial detention in Mozambique
Author: Jean
Published: 06 Jun 2013
Pre-trial detention in West Africa: Prohibitive conditions of release and the nature of bribery in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ghana; Guidelines on the use and conditions of police custody and pre-trial detention in Africa: African Commission draft guidelines to be followed by extensive consultation; Audit of pre-trial detention in Mozambique under way Data on conditions and process of pre-trial detention being collected across Mozambique
PPJA Newsletter PPJA Newsletter
Presentation on Remand Detention Trends for the Round Table on Remand Detention
Author: Jean
Published: 06 Jun 2013
This presentation indicates that the state now incarcerates close to 3 remand detainees for every person a judicial officer eventually finds guilty and sentences to a term of imprisonment in a year. The current ratio of 3 to 1 implies that 2 out of 3 remand detainees will never be convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment. It further implies that the “correct” remand population should be one third of its current size i.e. around 17,000 people.
Presentation South Africa
The Socio-economic Impact of Pre-trial Detention
Author: Jean
Published: 03 Jun 2013
Pretrial detainees may lose their jobs and homes; contract and spread disease while in detention; be asked to pay bribes to secure release or better conditions of detention; and suffer physical and psychological damage which persists after their detention ends.
Socio-economic impact Pre-trial detention
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku May 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 03 Jun 2013
This edition of 30 Days covers news items from May 2013, covering prison conditions, sentencing and parole, corruption and governance, rehabilitation, and other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Who are paralegals and what do they do in relation to pre-trial detention?
Author: Jean
Published: 02 Jun 2013
Paralegals are people with some legal training who offer basic legal advice, education and assistance, especially to those who have been arrested and are held in police stations, or those who are awaiting trial in prison. The work of paralegals is often focussed on securing the release of persons detained pre-trial, whether on bail, bond, via surety, or unconditionally. This they do by providing practical assistance, for example, by tracing friends or family who may be able to stand surety or post bail, and by offering advice, for example by explaining how to apply for bail.
Paralegals Role Pre-trial detention
Press Release on Overcrowding
Author: Jean
Published: 30 May 2013
CSPRI responds to the Minister of Justice’s claim that prison overcrowding is an indication of the NPA “doing a good job”. Statistics provided by CSPRI counters the Minister's claims on the efficacy of the NPA.
Overcrowding Prosecution South Africa Press Release
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Algeria 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 28 May 2013
"The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial, but in practice authorities did not always respect legal provisions regarding defendants’ rights. Defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney, provided at public expense if necessary. Most trials are public and all are nonjury. Defendants can confront or question witnesses against them or present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. In the past, reports indicated that courts occasionally denied defendants and their attorneys access to government-held evidence, but there were very few reports of such incidents during the year. Defendants have the right to appeal. The testimony of men and women has equal weight under the law."
Algeria Research
The Socio-economic Impact of Pretrial Detention in Sierra Leone
Author: Jean
Published: 23 May 2013
This study, carried out by Timap for Justice and Prison Watch Sierra Leone, in collaboration with UNDP and the Open Society Justice Initiative, found that pretrial detention primarily affects average Sierra Leoneans; breadwinners who are poor or on low-incomes, as well as their families. The study has detailed findings on the demography of detainees and the social, health, and human rights effects of pretrial detention on detainees.
Socio-economic impact Pre-trial Sierra Leone Research
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku April 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 08 May 2013
This edition of 30 Days covers news items from April 2013, covering prison conditions, sentencing and parole, corruption and governance, rehabilitation, and other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Discussion paper: The Use and Practice of Imprisonment: Current Trends and Future Challenges
Author: Jean
Published: 02 May 2013
Penal Reform International side-event at the 22nd session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Vienna 22-26 April 2013. Extract: "Latest UN data suggest that the share of the prison population in pre-trial detention worldwide decreased from 29 to 25 per cent between 2005 and 2011. Regionally, the percentage of pre-trial detainees fell from 61 to 35 per cent in Africa, from 25 to 24 per cent in the Americas and from 18 to 16 per cent in Europe, while it remained stable at 42 per cent in Asia.17 But official figures are likely to underestimate the numbers involved since in many countries detainees are held in police detention, escaping the prison statistics but not the fact of detention."
Prisons
The Constitution (Sentencing Guidelines for Courts of Judicature) (Practice) Directions 2013
Author: Suraj
Published: 26 Apr 2013
The objectives of these Practice Directions are— (a) to set out the purpose for which offenders may be sentenced or dealt with; (b) to provide principles and guidelines to be applied by courts in sentencing; (c) to provide sentence ranges and other means of dealing with offenders; (d) to provide a mechanism for considering the interests of victims of crime and the community when sentencing; and (e) to provide a mechanism that will promote uniformity, consistency and transparency in sentencing.
Legislation Uganda
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Tanzania 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 10 Apr 2013
"The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, but the judiciary remained underfunded, corrupt (see section 4), inefficient (especially in the lower courts), and subject to executive influence. Court clerks reportedly continued to take bribes to decide whether to open cases and to hide or misdirect the files of those accused of crimes. According to news reports, magistrates of lower courts occasionally accepted bribes to determine the outcome of cases."
Tanzania Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Gambia 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 05 Apr 2013
"The law provides for the presumption of innocence, a fair and public trial without undue delay, and adequate time and facilities to prepare defense. Under the law no one is compelled to testify or confess guilt. Trials were generally open to the public, unless closed-court sessions were necessary to protect the identity of a witness. In one instance, NIA officials denied accredited diplomats entrance to the final session of the Supreme Court appeal hearing regarding seven former government officials sentenced to death for treason (see section 1.e.). Juries were not used. Defendants can consult an attorney and have the right to confront witnesses and evidence against them, present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf, and appeal judgment to a higher court. The law extends these rights to all citizens, and no persons were denied these rights during the year; however, detainees were rarely informed of their rights or the reasons for their arrest or detention, according to Amnesty International. For example, outspoken Muslim cleric Imam Bakawsu Fofana, who was arrested on May 31 and held for nine days without charge, was never informed of the reason he was detained."
The Gambia Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Nigeria 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 04 Apr 2013
"The constitution provides for public trials in the regular court system and individual rights in criminal and civil cases. The constitution does not provide for juries or the right to access government-held evidence. However, the criminal procedure act provides for this access, and the defendant can apply to access government-held evidence either directly or through a lawyer. Defendants enjoy the right to presumption of innocence, to be informed promptly and in detail of the charges (with free interpretation as necessary), to a fair and public trial without undue delay, to communicate with an attorney of choice (or to have one provided at public expense), to adequate time and facilities to prepare defense, to confront witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence, not to be compelled to testify or confess guilt, and to appeal. Authorities did not always respect these rights. Although an accused person is entitled to counsel of his choice, no law prevents a trial from going forward without counsel, except for certain offenses for which the penalty is death. The Legal Aid Act provides for the appointment of counsel in such cases and stipulates that a trial should not go forward without it. Defendants were held in prison awaiting trial for well beyond the term allowed in the constitution (see section 1.c.). Human rights groups alleged terror suspects detained by the military were denied their right to access to legal representation, due process, or the opportunity to be heard by a judicial authority."
Nigeria Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Mali 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 04 Apr 2013
"The law stipulates that charged prisoners must be tried within one year, but this limit frequently was exceeded, and lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. Lengthy trial procedures, large numbers of detainees, judicial inefficiency, corruption, and staff shortages contributed to lengthy pretrial detention. Individuals sometimes remained in prison for several years before their cases came to trial. Many individuals could not afford bail. Approximately 45 percent of the prison population consisted of persons awaiting trial. Available data do not include prisons located in the country’s northern regions."
Research Mali
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku March 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 04 Apr 2013
This edition of 30 days covers news items from March 2013, covering prison conditions, sentencing and parole, corruption and governance, rehabiliation, and news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Sudan 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 02 Apr 2013
"Lengthy pretrial detention was common. The large numbers of detainees and judicial inefficiency, such as the failure of judges to appear for court, resulted in trial delays. For example, at year’s end Jalila Khamis Kuku, a teacher and activist held in detention since March, was awaiting trial on several charges that carried the death penalty. Authorities changed the time and location of his trial on several occasions without explanation."
Sudan Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Rwanda 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 02 Apr 2013
"The law provides for a presumption of innocence, but government officials did not always adhere to this in practice. The law requires defendants be informed promptly and in detail of the charges in a language they comprehend; however, judges postponed numerous hearings because this had not occurred. Defendants have the right to a fair trial without undue delay, but there were an insufficient number of prosecutors, judges, and courtrooms to hold trials within a reasonable period of time. In the ordinary court system (vice military and community justice “gacaca” courts) the law provides for public trials, although courts closed proceedings in cases involving minors, to protect witnesses, or at the request of defendants. Judges, rather than juries, try all cases. Defendants have the right to communicate with an attorney of choice, although few could afford private counsel. Minors are guaranteed legal representation by law. The law does not provide for an attorney at state expense for indigent defendants; however, the Rwandan Bar Association and 36 other member organizations of the Legal Aid Forum provided legal assistance to some indigent defendants, although they lacked the resources to provide defense counsel to all in need. The law requires that defendants have adequate time and facilities to prepare their defense, and judges routinely granted requests to extend preparation time. Defendants and their attorneys have the right to access government-held evidence relevant to their cases, but courts did not always respect this right. Defendants have the right to be present at trial, confront witnesses against them, and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. The law protects defendants from being compelled to testify or confess guilt, and judges generally respected that right during trial. However, there were numerous reports SSF coerced suspects into confessing guilt and of judges accepting such confessions despite defendants’ protests. The law provides for the right to appeal, and this provision was respected."
Rwanda Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Kenya 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 01 Apr 2013
"Lengthy pretrial detention continued to be a serious problem and contributed to overcrowding in prisons. Some defendants served more than the statutory term for their alleged offense in pretrial detention. Approximately 36 percent of inmates were pretrial detainees. The government claimed that the average time spent in pretrial detention on capital charges was 16 months; however, there were reports that many detainees spent two to three years in prison before their trials were completed. Police from the arresting locale are responsible for serving court summonses and picking up detainees from prison each time a court schedules a hearing on a case. Due to a shortage of manpower and resources, police often failed to appear or lacked the means to transport detainees, who then were forced to wait for the next hearing of their cases."
Kenya Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Equatorial Guinea 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 01 Apr 2013
"Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem, and many of those incarcerated were pretrial detainees; the exact number was unavailable. Although prison authorities were required to provide monthly lists of prisoners and detainees to the Ministry of Justice, this did not occur. Inefficient judicial procedures, corruption, lack of monitoring, and inadequate staffing contributed to the problem."
Research Equatorial Guinea
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Morocco 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 28 Mar 2013
"Although the government claimed that accused persons were generally brought to trial within two months, prosecutors may request as many as five additional two-month extensions of pretrial detention. Consequently, pretrial detentions may last as long as one year. There were reports that authorities routinely held detainees beyond the one-year limit. Government officials attributed these delays to inefficiency and lack of resources in the court system. According to the government, as of October 1, pretrial detainees made up approximately 41 percent of the 69,054 inmates in prison. The parliamentary committee that investigated the conditions at Oukacha Prison (see section 1.c.) reported that 80 percent of Oukacha inmates were in pretrial detention. In some cases detainees received a sentence shorter than the time they spent in pretrial detention. NGOs continued to report that more than half of incarcerated minors were in pretrial detention. In some cases minors were detained for as long as eight months prior to trial."
Morocco Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Republic of Congo 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 27 Mar 2013
"Lengthy pretrial detention due to judicial backlogs was a problem. Pretrial detainees continued to constitute three-fourths of the prison population. On average detainees waited one to three months in noncriminal cases and at least 12 months in criminal cases, according to prison authorities, or 12 to 36 months, according to human rights activists, before going to trial."
Republic of the Congo Research
Budget Vote Submission
Author: Jean
Published: 27 Mar 2013
The submission is made in response to the 2013/14 Budget Vote as accompanied by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) Strategic Plan 2013/14 - 2016/17 and Performance Plan 2013/14 - 2016/17. The submission deals with three broad issues: (1) alignment between the Strategic Plan and the budget, (2) creating safer prisons, and (3) rehabilitation and reintegration. The latter two focal areas are in response to a general request from the Portfolio Committee for submissions on these two issues.
ACJR Publication South Africa ACJR Submission
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Libya 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 26 Mar 2013
"The Constitutional Declaration provides for an independent judiciary and stipulates that every person has a right to resort to the courts. The judicial system under Qadhafi was not independent. While the part of the system processing day-to-day, nonpolitically tinged cases functioned reasonably well, the judicial system, despite tentative efforts to reform it, remained largely ineffective in dealing with the complex issues arising from the end of the Qadhafi era. Thousands of persons in detention were held without access to a lawyer and without being informed of the charges against them. Moreover, few trials were held, and only a few investigations were initiated into alleged abuses by either pro- or anti-Qadhafi groups. Qadhafi’s parallel court system for political cases no longer existed, and the Ministry of Justice no longer directed the day-to-day operations of the court system. However, the courts still struggled to deal with sensitive and complex political cases. In addition, judges cited concerns about the overall lack of security in and around the courts as one of the reasons that they had not yet returned to work, further hindering the judiciary’s reestablishment. Detainees were also subjected to threats that they would be killed if released."
Libya Research
US State Department Comoros 2012 Human Rights Report
Author: Jean
Published: 25 Mar 2013
"Pretrial detention was a problem. By law pretrial detainees can be held for only four months, but this period can be extended. Detainees routinely await trial for extended periods due to a variety of reasons, including administrative delays, case backlogs, and time-consuming collection of evidence. Some extensions lasted several months."
Comoros Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Sierra Leone 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 25 Mar 2013
"Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. Prison Watch reported that due to a severe shortage of legal professionals, 60 percent of prisoners were waiting to be charged or tried, or their trials were not completed. Pretrial and remand detainees spent an average of three to five years in pretrial detention before courts examined their cases or filed formal charges. In extreme cases, the wait could be as long as 10 years. According to the NGO Open Society Initiative for West Africa, remand prisoners frequently changed their pleas from “not guilty” to “guilty” to be removed from the remand section to the less substandard areas of a prison. The joint UNIPSIL-OHCHR prison conditions report noted that limited access to bail, the absence of magistrates, and the irregularity of court sittings resulted in prisoners on remand often waiting more than a year to appear before a court and reported that the majority of prisoners were not serving a sentence."
Sierra Leone Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Gabon 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 25 Mar 2013
"The constitution provides for the right to a public trial and to legal counsel, and the government generally respected these rights. Trial dates were often delayed. A judge may deliver an immediate verdict of guilty at the initial hearing in a state security trial if the government presents sufficient evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to be informed promptly and in detail of charges when booked at a police station. Defendants are tried by a panel of three judges. Defendants enjoy the right to communicate with an attorney of choice and to adequate time and facilities to prepare their defense. Indigent defendants in both civil and criminal cases have the right to an attorney provided at state expense; however, this right was seldom respected in practice. Defendants have the right to confront witnesses against them; present witnesses or evidence on their behalf; access through their lawyer government-held evidence against them; and appeal. Defendants may not be compelled to testify or confess guilt. The government generally respected these rights, which were extended to all citizens."
Research Gabon
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Somalia 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 23 Mar 2013
"Other major human rights abuses included harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary and politically motivated arrest and detention; denial of a fair trial; corruption; trafficking in persons; abuse of and discrimination against minority clans; restrictions on workers’ rights; forced labor; and child labor."
Somalia Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Zambia 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"Prolonged pretrial detention was a problem. Approximately 30 percent of prison inmates were in pretrial detention. On average detainees spent an estimated three years in pretrial detention, which often exceeded the length of the prison sentence that corresponded to their alleged crime. For example, on August 18, the High Court freed Mateo Mfula Kapotwe, who had been held for 11 years on charges of murder before the state decided not to prosecute him. Approximately one-third of persons in incarceration had not been convicted of a crime or had not received a trial date. Broad rules of procedure gave wide latitude to prosecutors and defense attorneys to delay trials. Judicial inefficiency, lack of resources, and lack of trained personnel also contributed to prolonged pretrial detention."
Zambia Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Togo 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"The judicial system employs both traditional law and the Napoleonic Code in trying criminal and civil cases. Defendants officially enjoy a presumption of innocence and the right to be informed promptly and in detail of the charges against them, to a fair trial without undue delay, to communicate with an attorney of their choice, and to adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense. However, these rights were often not respected, and there were many delays in the justice system. Trials were open to the public, juries were used, and judicial procedures generally were respected. Defendants have the right to be present at their trials and the right to counsel and to appeal. All defendants have the right to an attorney, and the bar association sometimes provided attorneys for the indigent in criminal cases. Defendants have the right to be present at their trials, may confront witnesses, and may present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants have the right not to testify or confess guilt. Those convicted have the right to appeal. Authorities respected these rights. Defendants have the right to access government-held evidence relevant to their cases, but this right was not respected. The law did not extend these rights to persons tried in the military court."
Togo Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Swaziland 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Defendants enjoy the right to be informed of charges promptly, in detail, and in a language that the defendant understands. The constitution provides for the right to a fair public trial without undue delay, except when exclusion of the public is deemed necessary in the “interests of defense, public safety, public order, justice, public morality, the welfare of persons under the age of 18 years, or the protection of the private lives of the persons concerned in the proceedings.” The judiciary generally enforced this right in practice. There is no trial by jury. Court-appointed counsel is provided to indigent defendants at government expense in capital cases or if the crime is punishable by life imprisonment. Defendants and their attorneys have access to relevant government-held evidence, generally obtained during pretrial consultations from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Defendants may question witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants may not be compelled to testify or confess guilt. Defendants and prosecutors have the right of appeal up to the Supreme Court."
Swaziland Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Seychelles 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"Defendants have the right to a fair public trial, are considered innocent until proven guilty, and have the right to be present at their trials and to appeal. Defendants have the right to be informed promptly and in detail of the charges against them. Only cases involving murder or treason used juries. The constitution makes provision for defendants to present evidence and witnesses and to cross-examine witnesses in court. Defendants have the right to access government-held evidence; however, in practice, such requests were often delayed. The law provides the right of defendants to consult with an attorney of choice or to have one provided at public expense in a timely manner and to be provided adequate time and facilities to do so. These rights were enjoyed equally by all citizens."
Seychelles Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Senegal 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"At the end of 2011, 3,352 persons (44 percent of the total prison population) were in pretrial detention. The average time between the filing of charges and trial was two years. Trial delays were caused by judicial backlogs and absenteeism of judges. The law states that an accused person may not be held in pretrial detention for more than six months for minor crimes; however, authorities routinely held persons in custody until a court demanded their release. In cases involving allegations of murder, threats to state security, and embezzlement of public funds, there are no limits on the length of pretrial detention. In most cases, the length of pretrial detention was less than the length of sentence received. Criminals sentenced to prison terms received credit for time served in pretrial detention."
Senegal Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: São Tomé and Príncipe 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"Lengthy pretrial detention greatly hindered investigations in criminal cases since delays often made it hard to uncover the facts and evidence of a case. Inadequate court facilities and a shortage of trained judges and lawyers contributed to lengthy pretrial detention. According to the director of the Sao Tome Prison, 25 percent of the country’s prisoners were awaiting trial during the year. Authorities held approximately 15 pretrial detainees for more than a year."
São Tomé and Príncipe Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Namibia 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"Lengthy pretrial detention remained a significant problem. In 2010 approximately 8 percent of the general prison population was awaiting trial. At Windhoek’s main prison, prison officials estimated that figure to be closer to 20 percent during the year. The lack of qualified magistrates and other court officials, high cost to the government of providing legal aid, slow or incomplete police investigations, and continued postponement of cases resulted in a serious backlog of criminal cases and delays of years between arrest and trial. During the year the High Court and Prosecutor-General’s Office continued to implement proposals made in 2010 to improve the pace of administering justice, including granting increased case management powers to judges."
Namibia Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Mozambique 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"Excessively long pretrial detention continued to be a serious problem, due in part to an inadequate number of judges and prosecutors and poor communication among authorities. Approximately 37 percent of inmates were in pretrial detention. The LDH reported that in many cases the length of pretrial detention far exceeded the maximum allowed by law."
Mozambique Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Mauritius 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, and trials are public. The law provides for the right to a fair trial and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants have the right to be informed promptly and in detail of the charges against them with free interpretation, as necessary. Juries are used only in murder trials. Defendants have the right to be present at their trials and to consult an attorney in a timely manner. An attorney is provided at public expense when indigent defendants face felony charges. Defendants can confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases, and defendants have the right of appeal. The courts respected these rights, although an extensive case backlog delayed the process, particularly for obtaining government-held evidence. The law extends these rights to all citizens. Defendants have the right to adequate time and facilities to prepare defense. The law does not provide for the right to remain silent."
Mauritius Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Madagascar 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"The law provides for a presumption of innocence; however, this was often overlooked. The constitution and law provide defendants with the right to a full defense at every stage of the proceedings, and trials are public. While the law provides that juries can be used in all cases, they were used only in labor disputes. Defendants have the right to be present at their trials, to be informed of the charges against them, to call and confront witnesses, and to present evidence. The government is required to provide counsel for all detainees held on criminal charges who cannot afford their own attorney; however, many citizens were not aware of this right, nor made aware of it by authorities. Defendants who do not request or cannot afford counsel generally are given very little time to prepare their case. Attorneys have access to government-held evidence, but this right does not extend to defendants without attorneys. Legislation outlining defendants’ rights does not specifically refer to the right not to be compelled to testify but includes the right to be assisted by another person during the investigation/trial. Defendants have the right to appeal convictions. Although the law extends them to all citizens without exception, these rights were routinely denied as the de facto government prolonged incarceration of suspects for weeks without charge and continually postponed hearings while denying bail."
Madagascar Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Guinea-Bissau 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 22 Mar 2013
"The constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, but the judiciary had little independence and was barely operational. Judges were poorly trained, inadequately and irregularly paid, and subject to corruption. Judges went on strike several times during the year to protest their pay and working conditions. Courts and judicial authorities were also frequently biased and nonproductive. The attorney general had little protection from political pressure. A lack of materials and infrastructure often delayed trials and convictions were extremely rare. Authorities respected court orders when they were issued."
Guinea-Bissau Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report: Malawi 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 21 Mar 2013
"Defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to a public trial but not to a trial by jury. The Ministry of Justice continued its indefinite suspension of jury trials in murder cases, since murder suspects sometimes were incarcerated for years awaiting trial by jury. Juries were used in other types of cases. Child Justice Courts in Blantyre, Mzuzu, and Zomba handled cases of child offenders. The law provides for an accused to be informed of charges by a court within 48 hours. Defendants have the right to be present at their trial, are entitled to an attorney, and, if indigent, to have an attorney provided at state expense. Such assistance generally was limited to homicide cases. Defendants have the right to present and challenge evidence and witnesses and have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. By law, they are not compelled to testify or confess guilt. The law extends the above rights to all persons. All persons have the right of appeal; however, appeals often were delayed for years and sometimes never addressed by the higher court."
Malawi Research
CSPRI Newsletter No. 43 - March 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 10 Mar 2013
This newsletter is a continuation of the discussion in newsletter 42. The discussion covers the right to redress for victims of torture and other ill-treatment, and considers whether the new international guidelines will provide better access to redress for victims at a domestic level.
ACJR Newsletter Newsletter
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku December February 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Mar 2013
This edition of 30 days covers news items from February 2013, covering prison conditions, sentencing and parole, unsentenced prisoners, and news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
US Department of State Human Rights Report: South Sudan 2012
Author: Suraj
Published: 04 Feb 2013
"Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem, due largely to the lack of lawyers and judges, difficulties of locating witnesses, and the absence of a strong mechanism to compel witness attendance in court. The length of pretrial detention commonly equaled or exceeded the sentence for the alleged crime. Estimates of the number of pretrial detainees ranged from one-third to two-thirds of the prison population."
South Sudan Research
Recent Publications: Ernest Ojukwu et al Handbook on Prison Pre-trial Detainee Law Clinic
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Feb 2013
This book review was published in AHRLJ Volume 13 No 2 2013. The Handbook is a useful tool for navigating the relatively new idea of pre-trial law clinics in Nigeria. It presents the most relevant information in a reader-friendly fashion. Although there are a number of missing fundamentals, it is still a veritable resource material for those seeking to understand how pre-trial law clinics work in Nigeria.
Pre-trial Nigeria Guide Paralegals Research
Newsletter 4: Insight into pretrial detention in Mozambique; Zimbabwe's draft Constitution and pre-trial processes; South African court finds state liable for pre-trial detainee getting tuberculosis in prison
Author: Jean
Published: 30 Jan 2013
In this fourth PPJA newsletter Tina Lorizzo provides some insight into pre-trial detention in Mozambique, finding that Maputo's prisons are "tired"; Jean Redpath considers whether Zimbabwe's draft Constitution provides enough protection against abuse of pre-trial process?; and Clare Ballard and Jean Redpath discuss how the South African Constitutional Court decision which found the state liable for a pre-trial detainee getting tuberculosis in prison is a victory for rights but creates uncertainty in the law of delict.
PPJA Newsletter PPJA Newsletter
Republic of Cameroon: Make Human Rights a Reality (Amnesty)
Author: Jean
Published: 16 Jan 2013
"During visits of New Bell and Kondengui prisons, Amnesty International noted conditions in both prisons which amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. In New Bell, the representatives came across five inmates who had their legs shackled in August 2010. The inmates said that they had been shackled for periods ranging from several weeks to several months. The shackles had been welded together and were permanently fixed to their legs. The shackles had visibly caused lacerations on the legs of the affected detainees. Senior officials at the Ministry of Justice told Amnesty International that they had not authorized this and were not aware of the use of shackles to restrain inmates. Prison authorities told Amnesty International that the inmates had been shackled after they had attempted to escape, which the prisoners denied. Prison officials at Kondengui and New Bell told Amnesty International delegates in December 2012 that shackles continued to be used, particularly against violent inmates or those who attempted to escape. However, use of shackles or leg irons breaches the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which states at Rule 33 that "Instruments of restraint, such as handcuffs, chains, irons and strait-jackets, shall never be applied as a punishment. Furthermore, chains or irons shall not be used as restraints". During their visit of Kondengui prison, Amnesty International found two wings which had particularly harsh conditions and which breached human rights standards. Wing 9 was known to the detainees as "Kosovo" (named after the war there). The wing, with a population of 1,402 in December 2012, consisted of 27 cells which were estimated to be on average approximately 30 square metres. Each cell held an average of 50 inmates. In December 2012, Wing 8 of a similar size as wing 9, had a population of 1.038. Because the cells did not provide enough space for all residents to sleep at the same time, many of the inmates slept in the open space outside the cell without a roof or bedding. This space also served as a kitchen for the inmates. Numerous detainees met by Amnesty International in this wing complained about their detention conditions. In a subsequent meeting with officials at the Ministry of Justice, Amnesty International urged the authorities to improve detention conditions in prison in general and Wing number 9 in particular."
Cameroon Research
CSPRI Newsletter No. 42 - December 2012 / January 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Jan 2013
This newsletter discusses the right to redress for victims of torture and other ill-treatment, and considers whether the new international guidelines will provide better access to redress for victims at a domestic level.
ACJR Newsletter Newsletter
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku December 2012 / January 2013
Author: Jean
Published: 10 Jan 2013
This edition of 30 days covers news items from December 2012 and January 2013, covering prison conditions, escapes, unsentenced prisoners, South Africans imprisoned abroad, and news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (Ghana)
Author: Jean
Published: 19 Dec 2012
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in Ghana works for access to justice particularly for those in pretrial detention.
Partners Ghana Pre-trial detention Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC)
Author: Jean
Published: 18 Dec 2012
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) promotes and advances human rights and the rule of law in southern Africa, primarily through strategic litigation support and capacity building.
Partners South Africa SALC Human Rights
African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF)
Author: Jean
Published: 18 Dec 2012
The African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF) is a network of African practitioners active in policing reform and civilian oversight over policing in Africa.
Partners South Africa APCOF
Lee v Minister of Correctional Services CCT 20 /12, 11 December 2012
Author: Jean
Published: 11 Dec 2012
Mr Lee contracted tuberculosis (TB) while in prison. He sued the Minister for damages on the basis that the poor prison health management resulted in his becoming infected. The High Court upheld the claim on the basis that the prison authorities had failed to take reasonable steps to prevent Mr Lee from contracting TB.The majority of the court noted that there is a legal duty on the responsible authorities to provide adequate health care services as part of the constitutional right of all prisoners to conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity.
Case law South Africa
Paralegal Alliance Network (PAN)
Author: Jean
Published: 27 Nov 2012
Paralegal Alliance Network (PAN) is a network of Zambian non governmental organisations (NGOs).
Partners Zambia Paralegals PAN
Prison Watch Sierra Leone
Author: Jean
Published: 26 Nov 2012
Prison Watch Sierra Leone was founded in 1996 which monitors and reports on prisons and detention conditions.
Partners Sierra Leone Prison Watch
Catholic Justice and Peace Commission
Author: Jean
Published: 26 Nov 2012
The Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) is a human rights monitoring, advocacy, and civic education organization. The JPC is a national organization with three independent jurisdictional dioceses in Gbarnga, Monrovia and Cape Palmas.
Partners Liberia JPC Human Rights Advocacy
Prison Fellowship Liberia
Author: Jean
Published: 26 Nov 2012
Chartered in 1989, Prison Fellowship Liberia seeks to provide help and healing for prisoners throughout the country. With the help of volunteers, education and restorative justice programs, mentoring, and legal assistance are available to inmates. In addition, PF Liberia is active and successful in seeking the release of pre-trial detainees in Liberia through its mediation programme run in partnership with East-West Management Institute.
Partners Paralegals Liberia Pre-trial
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku November 2012
Author: Jean
Published: 14 Nov 2012
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items reported during November 2012 on prison conditions, rehabilitation, unsentenced prisoners, sentencing and parole and South African prisoners abroad.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Submission on the Issue of Relative Resourcing of Police Areas
Author: jacob
Published: 11 Nov 2012
This is in response to the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency in Khayelitsha and a breakdown of relations between the community and the police in Khayelitsha
South Africa Policing ACJR Submission
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku October 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 07 Nov 2012
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from October 2012 on governance and corruption, parole and sentencing, prison conditions, unsentenced prisoners and rehabilitation, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Draft White Paper on Remand Detention Management in South Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 02 Nov 2012
Following the outcome of an interdepartmental project led by the DCS aimed at re-engineering the way in which awaiting trial detainees are dealt with, the Cabinet Lekgotla decided in January 2009 that the DCS must establish a Branch that will be responsible for the management of awaiting trial detainees.This White Paper deals with the remand detention population as a very distinct entity from the population of sentenced offenders. It recognises the unique challenges associated with persons who are detained although not yet found guilty of any crime. It distinguishes this population from a population focused on rehabilitation and acknowledges the duty to hold such a population for purposes of attending court.
Legislation South Africa
CSPRI Submission on the Strengthening of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services
Author: Jean
Published: 30 Oct 2012
The ability of the JICS to effectively promote and protect the rights of inmates depends on the extent to which it is independent of political and executive influence. Accordingly, this submission focuses on the financial and administrative aspects of the JICS as well as the nature and objects of its legislative powers.
South Africa ACJR Submission
Submission to the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry
Author: Berber
Published: 17 Oct 2012
CSPRI made a submission to the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency in Khayelitsha and a breakdown in relations between the community and the police in Khayelitsha. Bearing in mind the obligations under the Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol, the recommendations touch upon meaningful independent oversight, including at the provincial level; improved training of law enforcement officials; prompt and impartial investigations of allegations of torture; and public co-operation.
International legal instrument ACJR Publication ACJR Submission South Africa
Independent Medico-Legal Unit
Author: Jean
Published: 09 Oct 2012
The Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) is a non-governmental organization that seeks a torture free society by promoting the rights of torture victims and survivors, and which seeks to protect all Kenyans from all forms of state-perpetrated torture by advocating for policy reforms, monitoring government adherence to human rights, rehabilitating victims of torture and capacity building of key stakeholders.
Partners Kenya IMLU
Resource Oriented Development Initiative
Author: Jean
Published: 09 Oct 2012
Resource Oriented Development Initiative (RODI) Kenya aims to reduce crime and re-offending by training school pupils and prisoners in organic agriculture, agro-processing, natural resource management, HIV/AIDs, and substance abuse prevention.
Partners Kenya RODI Development
Legal Resources Foundation
Author: Jean
Published: 09 Oct 2012
Legal Resources Foundation Trust (LRF) is an independent, not-for-profit Kenyan civil society organization that promotes access to justice through human rights education, research and policy advocacy.
Partners Kenya LRF
Submission on the JICS Annual Report 2011/12
Author: Berber
Published: 09 Oct 2012
With this submission, CSPRI wishes to draw the Portfolio Committee’s attention to the fact that since its establishment in 2000, the JICS has not been the subject of a review process scrutinising whether it is indeed advancing prisoners’ rights in South Africa. CSPRI submits that continuous and regular review is necessary in order for state institutions to adapt to changing needs and improve efficiency and effectiveness. The submission discusses the independence of JICS and the current investigative regime and encourages JICS to include recommendations, based on national and international law and jurisprudence, whenever it reports concerns.
International legal instrument ACJR Publication ACJR Submission Prisons South Africa
Muslims for Human Rights
Author: Jean
Published: 08 Oct 2012
The Kenyan Organisation Muslims for Human Rights comprises four main projects, one of which is "Access to Justice" : Prisons Reform.
Kenya Partners Access Justice Muslims Human Rights MUHURI
Rwanda: Shrouded in secrecy Illegal detention and torture by Rwanda’s military intelligence
Author: Jean
Published: 08 Oct 2012
Amnesty International began to receive reports of enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment by Rwandan military intelligence in March 2010. This spate of human rights violations happened as military intelligence launched investigations into threats to national security in the run-up to the August 2010 presidential elections. Grenade attacks, rare in recent years, multiplied after February 2010. Some security analysts attributed them to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed opposition group based ineastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Growing tensions within the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) following the departure of the former army chief, General Kayumba Nyamwasa, in February 2010 also allegedly raised the spectre of potential security threats from within the army. As part of the Rwandan authorities’ investigations into security matters, individuals were arrested, often arbitrarily, by the military, sometimes acting in collaboration with the police. Those arrested were almost exclusively men aged between 20 and 45. Most of the cases documented here are of civilians, including demobilized military. Other cases include members of the Rwandan army or individuals suspected by the Rwandan authorities of belonging to the FDLR. After their arrest, the men were detained incommunicado and interrogated by military intelligence.
Rwanda Torture Research
Submission on the DCS Annual Report 2011/12
Author: Berber
Published: 08 Oct 2012
This submission deals with human resources, staff training, children in prisons, discipline and turnstiles. Many of the problems facing the Department of Correctional Services are longstanding and the Portfolio Committee is familiar with these. CSPRI expresses concern about the persistence of these problems. For reasons that are not always clear the same issues undermine performance in the Department without a solution in sight. CSPRI makes a number of recommendations as to how to address the concerns noted.
International legal instrument ACJR Submission Prisons South Africa
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku September 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 15 Sep 2012
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from August 2012 on governance and corruption, prison conditions and escapes, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku August 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 11 Sep 2012
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from August 2012 on governance and corruption, parole and sentencing, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad and rehabilitation, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Rule of Law in Malawi: The Road to Recovery
Author: Jean
Published: 31 Aug 2012
Report of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA).
Malawi Research
Punished for being poor: Outdated offences in the DRC
Author: Dignité K. Bwiza
Published: 27 Aug 2012
by Dignité K. Bwiza, University of the Western Cape. This article discusses the status of out-dated offences in the DRC, and its interconnectedness with imprisonment and poverty.
Democratic Republic of Congo Research Outdated offences
Newsletter 3: Progress on human rights in Mozambique; Outdated offences in Mozambique; Pre-trial detention in Burundi; 'Frais de Bougie'; Outdated offences in the DRC; Measures to improve custody time limit implementation in Malawi
Author: Jean
Published: 22 Aug 2012
In this third PPJA newsletter we report on matters related to pre-trial detention in Mozambique, Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, covering issues such as oversight and monitoring of places of detention, outdated offences resulting in detention, custody time limits on pre-trial detention, and abusive practices associated with poverty in African prisons.
PPJA Newsletter PPJA Newsletter
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku July 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 06 Aug 2012
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from July 2012 on governance and corruption, parole and sentencing, extraditions, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad and rehabilitation, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Submissions on the Prevention and Combating of Torture of Persons Bill [B21 of 2012]
Author: Berber
Published: 01 Aug 2012
CSPRI made the following submissions to Parliament on the Prevention and Combating of Torture of Persons Bill. These submissions represent the views of a group of organisations and address, primarily, whether the contents of the Bill comply fully with the obligations imposed on the state in terms of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). These submissions also include recommendations on what the Bill should include and / or exclude as well as suggestions on how the text could be amended.
International legal instrument ACJR Publication ACJR Submission South Africa
Guinea Criminal Code
Author: Jean
Published: 24 Jul 2012
Loi N ° 98/036 Du 31 Decembre 1998 Portant Code Pénal L’Assemblee Nationale
Guinea Legislation
"I can arrest you": The Zimbabwe Republic Police and your rights
Author: Jean
Published: 15 Jul 2012
This report is by Sokwanele, a popular protest underground movement based in Zimbabwe. "This report focuses on the risk of arrest at the hands of the partisan Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) under the command of Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, who has publicly acknowledged his allegiance to ZANU-PF. Chihuri has served as police head since 1993 and his contract has been renewed by President Mugabe 13 times since 1997. Chihuri is a member of Joint Operations Command (JOC), the junta which continues to control Zimbabwe. In a country where the Rule of Law is no longer operational and the security forces operate with impunity, every citizen is vulnerable. A chance remark in a taxi, at a pub or even at a funeral could lead to arrest and possible incarceration in one of the country’s disgracefully maintained jails. Those who stand up for their rights and join demonstrations or canvass for political parties other than ZANU-PF face possible arrest, severe beatings and torture in custody."
Zimbabwe Research
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku June 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 09 Jul 2012
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from June 2012 on governance and corruption, parole and sentencing, unsentenced prisoners, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad, rehabilitation, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (26 June)
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Jun 2012
A quarter of a century ago on 26 June, the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment (Convention Against Torture) came into force. Places of pre-trial detention are high-risk for torture.
Torture United Nations Pre-trial detention
CSPRI Newsletter No. 41 - June 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 08 Jun 2012
This newsletter discusses recent changes regarding medical parole. On 1 March 2012 a new section 79 of the Correctional Services Act came into operation following adoption of the Correctional Matters Amendment Act 5 of 2011. The question asked is whether the new medical parole system gives effect to inmates’ right to dignity as well as the public’s right to safety.
ACJR Newsletter Newsletter
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku - May 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 04 Jun 2012
This month's edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers issues of governance and corruption, sentencing and parole, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Report on Children in Prison in South Africa
Author: Gwen
Published: 30 May 2012
This report is an update to the situational analysis of children in prison in South Africa prepared by the Community Law Centre in 1997. The Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 (Child Justice Act), promulgated on 1 April 2010, introduced a markedly different child justice regime than that which was previously regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and the common law. This development, along with various others which have emerged since 1997 (e.g. child justice jurisprudence and government’s renewed focus on children in conflict with the law), has changed the way in which South Africa’s courts and correctional system deal with children in conflict with the law. Accordingly, an updated analysis on children in prison became necessary.
Research Children in Prison
Report on Children in Prison in South Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 28 May 2012
"An important finding is that the policies in respect of the services and activities available to children are varied and inconsistent. Inconsistencies exist in relation to information provided at admission, orientation of new admissions, conditions of detention, the segregation of children from adults, access to education, access to recreation and preparation for release. ... Based on snapshot data, children remain awaiting trial in DCS facilities for an average of 70 days."
ACJR Publication South Africa Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report Central African Republic 2011
Author: Jean
Published: 25 May 2012
"Prison conditions were rudimentary, harsh, and substantially below international standards. Prison conditions outside Bangui generally were worse than those in the capital. Police, gendarme investigators, and presidential guards assigned as prison wardens continued to subject prison inmates to torture and other forms of inhuman, cruel, and degrading treatment. Most prisons lacked basic sanitation and ventilation, electric lighting, basic and emergency medical care, and sufficient access to potable water....According to BINUCA arbitrary arrest was a serious problem and was the most common human rights abuse committed by security forces during the year. Authorities continued to arrest individuals, particularly women, and charge them with witchcraft, an offense punishable by execution, although no one received the death penalty during the year. Prison officials at Bimbo Central Prison for women stated that accused witches were detained for their own safety, since village mobs sometimes killed suspected witches...Prolonged pretrial detention was a serious problem. For example, in November pretrial detainees constituted approximately 70 percent of Ngaragba Prison’s population and an estimated 60 percent of Bimbo Central Prison’s population. Detainees usually were informed of the charges against them; however, many waited in prison for several months before seeing a judge. Judicial inefficiency and corruption, as well as a shortage of judges and severe financial constraints on the judicial system, contributed to pretrial delays. Some detainees remained in prison for years because of lost files and bureaucratic obstacles."
Central African Republic Research
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku April 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 07 May 2012
This month's edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers issues of governance and corruption, sentencing and parole, prison conditions, unsentenced prisoners, South Africans imprisoned abroad, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Prisoners are bottom of the pile: The human rights of inmates in Ghana
Author: Jean
Published: 25 Apr 2012
"Overcrowding is severe in many of the country’s prisons; food and medical care are inadequate and many prisoners rely on family members and outside organizations for additional food, medicines and other necessities. Skin diseases are common; and tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis and pneumonia are also prevalent but the prison health system is unable to guarantee adequate medical care within the prisons."
Research Ghana Human Rights
Submission to the 51st Ordinary Session of the ACHPR
Author: Berber
Published: 18 Apr 2012
On 18 April 2012, the Community Law Centre delivered a submission to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The submission dealt with three issues, namely compliance with the Robben Island Guidelines, domestic oversight over places of detention and limiting the use of pre-trial detention.
International legal instrument African Commission ACJR Publication ACJR Submission South Africa
Legal Resources Foundation Zambia
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Apr 2012
Legal Resources Foundation Zambia is a non-profit Foundation, established in 1993 providing legal aid, promoting human rights and conducting litigation in the public interest. Legal Resources Foundation is the leading provider of legal services to financially disadvantaged persons in Zambia.
Zambia Partners Legal Aid LRF
Burundi Bridges to Justice
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Apr 2012
Burundi Bridges to Justice is a locally registered NGO associated with International Bridges for Justice
Burundi Partners Legal Aid Justice
ACAT Côte d’Ivoire
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Apr 2012
ACAT Côte d’Ivoire’s mission is to raise awareness, educate and train the population on human rights and more particularly on the abolition of torture and the death penalty. In order to reach those goals, ACAT Côte d’Ivoire ensures the improvement of prison conditions by visiting prisons regularly. ACAT Côte d’Ivoire gathers information on cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and alerts the international and regional human rights mechanisms.
Partners Cote d'Ivoire Torture
ACAT Burundi
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Apr 2012
The Action by Christians for the abolition of torture in Burundi (ACAT Burundi) is a non-profit association whose mission is to fight for the respect of human dignity, and particularly for the abolition of torture and the death penalty. ACAT Burundi acts for all those that are being tortured, detained in inhuman conditions, have been sentenced to death or have disappeared irrespective of their origins, political opinions or religious beliefs.
Burundi Partners Torture ACAT
US Department of State Human Rights Report South Sudan 2011
Author: Jean
Published: 10 Apr 2012
"Prison conditions were harsh and life threatening, and prisons were overcrowded. Rumbek Prison in Lakes State, for example, was designed for 200 inmates but reportedly held more than 550. Health care and sanitation were inadequate, and basic medical supplies and equipment were lacking. Prisoners generally received one meal per day and relied on family or friends for food. Potable water was limited"...."Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. Estimates of the number of pretrial detainees in prison ranged from one-third to two-thirds of the prison population. The country’s lack of lawyers and judges contributed to lengthy pretrial detention. During the year the UNMISS Rule of Law, Judicial Systems, and Prison Advisory Unit started a justice sector mapping project to collect data on pretrial detainees, including those held for more than one year"
South Sudan Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report Botswana 2011
Author: Jean
Published: 10 Apr 2012
"Conditions in the country’s 22 prisons and two detention centers for irregular immigrants remained poor due to overcrowding. The prison system held approximately 15-20 percent more inmates than its authorized capacity of 4,219. Overcrowding, which was worse in men’s prisons, constituted a serious health threat due to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis."
Botswana Research
Associação Mãos Livres
Author: Jean
Published: 06 Apr 2012
Associação Mãos Livres has been providing free legal aid to poor people since 2000, including those held in detention. It is the first organization in Angola that dares to call itself a "human rights organization", and is the first Angolan NGO to provide free legal aid.
Angola Partners
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation
Author: Jean
Published: 06 Apr 2012
The mission of CHRR is to "contribute toward the protection, promotion and consolidation of good governance by empowering rural and urban communities in Malawi to be aware of and exercise their rights through research advocacy and networking in order to realise human development."
Malawi Partners Human Rights Rehabilitation CHRR
Paralegal Advisory Service Institute
Author: Jean
Published: 06 Apr 2012
PASI started in Malawi in May 2000 as a partnership of Penal Reform International (PRI) with four Malawian NGOs, to provide legal assistance to people awaiting trial in prison and defend their legal and constitutional rights.
Malawi Partners Paralegal PASI PRI
US Department of State Human Rights Report Burkina Faso 2011
Author: Jean
Published: 04 Apr 2012
"Conditions in prisons and detention facilities were harsh and at times life-threatening. Prisons were overcrowded, and medical care and sanitation were poor. Although regulations require the presence of a doctor and five nurses at the Maison d’Arret et de Correction de Ouagadougou’s (MACO) health unit, only three nurses are on duty to treat the 1,506 detainees." ... "Government officials estimated that 48 percent of prisoners nationwide were in pretrial status. In some cases detainees were held without charge or trial for longer periods than the maximum sentence they would have received if convicted of the alleged offense. A pretrial release (release on bail) system exists; however, the extent of its use was unknown. Human rights advocates stated that the justice system, including prisons, had unreliable mechanisms to track detainees and occasionally “lost” some of them and/or their paperwork."
Burkina Faso Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report Algeria 2011
Author: Jean
Published: 04 Apr 2012
"According to the director general of the Prisons Administration, there were 56,000 prisoners, including 411 minors, in the country’s 133 prisons."... "The law does not provide a person in detention the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of the detention. Those charged with acts against the security of the state, including terrorism, may be held in pretrial detention as long as 20 months, according to the penal code, and the prosecutor must show cause every four months for continuing pretrial detention. Hundreds of rioters in January charged with looting or public disorder were held in pretrial detention, usually for 24 hours, but sometimes for several days."
Algeria
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku - March 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 04 Apr 2012
This month's edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers issues of governance and corruption, rehabilitation, escapes, unsentenced prisoners, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad, parole and sentencing as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
US Department of State Human Rights Report Mozambique 2011
Author: Jean
Published: 26 Mar 2012
"By law the maximum length of investigative detention without a warrant is 48 hours, during which time a detainee has the right to judicial review of the case. The individual may be detained another 90 days while the PIC continues its investigation. When a person is accused of a crime carrying a sentence of more than eight years, the individual may be detained up to an additional 84 days without being charged formally. With court approval, such detainees may be held for two more periods of 84 days each without charge while the police complete their investigation. The law provides that when the prescribed period for investigation has been completed and if no charges have been brought, the detainee must be released. .... Excessively long pretrial detention continued to be a serious problem, due in part to an inadequate number of judges and prosecutors and poor communication among authorities. Approximately 35 percent of inmates were in pretrial detention. The LDH reported in many cases authorities held inmates far beyond the maximum allowed under law before their trials began and that in the city and Province of Maputo alone in the first half of September there were 532 detainees that were being held beyond the legal limit."
Mozambique Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report Benin 2011
Author: Jean
Published: 26 Mar 2012
"Prison conditions continued to be harsh and life threatening. Overcrowding and lack of proper sanitation and medical facilities posed risks to prisoners’ health. A July 2010 mediator of the republic’s (ombudsman) report on the condition in the nine civil prisons indicated that prisons were overcrowded, and malnutrition and disease were common."... "Approximately 75 percent of persons in prison were pretrial detainees; length of pretrial detention varied from two to 11 years. Inadequate facilities, poorly trained staff, and overcrowded dockets delayed the administration of justice."
Benin Research
US Department of State Human Rights Report Angola 2011
Author: Jean
Published: 26 Mar 2012
"According to the Ministry of Interior and press reports, the 34 prisons had 11,692 available places for 19,898 prisoners in November"..."There were 9,234 men in pretrial detention and 10,113 men serving a sentence. There were 551 women, of whom 253 were in pretrial detention and 298 were sentenced."..."The law states detainees should not be held longer than 24 hours, but many were held for days. Excessively long pretrial detention continued to be a serious problem. An inadequate number of judges and poor communication among authorities contributed to the problem. Police beat and then released detainees rather than prepare a formal court case. In some cases authorities held inmates in the prison system for up to two years before their trials began. NGOs reported that more than 50 percent of inmates were pretrial detainees, most of whom had not been formally charged. The government did not release detainees who had been held beyond the legal time limit, claiming that previous releases of pretrial detainees had resulted in an increase in crime."
Angola Research Human Rights
Glossary of criminal offence terms
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Mar 2012
This page lists the general meanings of some criminal offence terms used in Africa.
Guide Africa Criminal offence
Torture continues for Libyan detainees
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Mar 2012
A report released by Amnesty International in February 2012 says that a year after the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's militias are "largely out of control", with the use of torture ubiquitous and the country's new rulers unable – or unwilling – to prevent abuses.
News Torture Libya Amnesty International
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku February 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 08 Mar 2012
This month's media summary report includes news about governance and corruption, escapes, and parole and sentencing, as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Conversation on the Criminal Justice System in West Africa
Author: Jean
Published: 02 Mar 2012
A look at the Criminal Justice System with Professor Chidi Odinkalu of the Open Society Justice Initiative. Published in October 2010 by West Africa Insight, which is a Publication of West Africa Horizon Scanning - Project of the Centre For Democracy Development in West Africa.
West Africa Research
About PPJA
Author: Jean
Published: 02 Mar 2012
Promoting Pre-trial Justice in Africa (PPJA) aims to collect and organise information on pre-trial justice in Africa and make this available and accessible to a broad audience of stakeholders in a manner that can inform decision-making and improve practice, thereby promoting pre-trial justice in Africa.
Pre-trial detention PPJA Pre-trial Justice
Comoros
Author: Jean
Published: 27 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Comoros.
Comoros Legal System
Cape Verde
Author: Jean
Published: 27 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Cape Verde.
Cape Verde Legal System
São Tomé and Príncipe
Author: Jean
Published: 27 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of São Tomé and Príncipe.
São Tomé and Príncipe Legal System
Mauritius
Author: Jean
Published: 24 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Mauritius.
Mauritius Legal System
Seychelles
Author: Jean
Published: 24 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Seychelles.
Seychelles Legal System
Militias Threaten New Hope for Libya
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Feb 2012
This report by Amnesty International says that a year after the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's militias are "largely out of control", with the use of torture ubiquitous and the country's new rulers unable – or unwilling – to prevent abuses. Thousands of detainees are being held in various prisons across the country. In at least 12 cases since October, prisoners have been tortured to death, including Omar Brebesh, Libya's former ambassador to France, who died in Tripoli last month.
Libya Research
Version authentique du Rapport de la Commission Nationale des droits de l'Homme sur les allégations de cas de torture faites par les personnes détenues dans le cadre de la procédure ouverte pour atteinte à la sûreté de l'Etat.
Author: Jean
Published: 19 Feb 2012
Version authentique du Rapport de la Commission Nationale des droits de l'Homme sur les allégations de cas de torture faites par les personnes détenues dans le cadre de la procédure ouverte pour atteinte à la sûreté de l'Etat. La Commission Nationale des Droits de l'Homme a adopté à sa séance plénière du 15 février 2012 le rapport sur les allégations de cas de torture faites par les personnes détenues dans le cadre de la procédure ouverte pour atteinte à la sûreté de l'Etat. Contrairement à ce qui a été adopté, le Gouvernement a fait publier un rapport travesti obtenu sur menaces. La Commission, fidèle à sa mission, tient à établir la vérité et publie par la même occasion le rapport dans sa forme originelle.
Togo Torture Research
Sierra Leone
Author: Jean
Published: 10 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone
Senegal
Author: Jean
Published: 10 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Senegal.
Senegal Legal System
Guinea-Bissau
Author: Jean
Published: 10 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Guinea-Bissau and lists research and documents relevant to pre-trial justice in Guinea-Bissau.
Guinea-Bissau Pre-trial Justice
Lesotho
Author: Jean
Published: 10 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Lesotho.
Lesotho Legal System
Togo
Author: Jean
Published: 09 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Togo.
Togo Legal System
Swaziland
Author: Jean
Published: 09 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Swaziland.
Swaziland Legal System
Gambia, The
Author: Jean
Published: 09 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of The Gambia.
The Gambia Legal System
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku - December 2011/January 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 07 Feb 2012
This edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers news items from December 2011 and January 2012, including issues of governance and corruption, unsentenced prisoners, prison conditions, rehabilitation, South Africans imprisoned abroad, parole and sentencing as well as prison related news from other African countries.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Eritrea
Author: Jean
Published: 06 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Eritrea.
Eritrea Legal System
Equatorial Guinea
Author: Jean
Published: 06 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Equatorial Guinea.
Equatorial Guinea Legal System
Djibouti
Author: Jean
Published: 05 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Djibouti.
Djibouti Legal System
Congo, Republic of the
Author: Jean
Published: 05 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Republic of the Congo.
Republic of the Congo Legal System
Burkina Faso
Author: Jean
Published: 05 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso Legal System
Ghana
Author: Jean
Published: 05 Feb 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Ghana.
Ghana Legal System
Mali
Author: Jean
Published: 25 Jan 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Mali.
Mali Legal System
CSPRI Newsletter No. 40 - January 2012
Author: Berber
Published: 24 Jan 2012
The South African parole regime has become a complex and confusing system. Recent case law has brought to light the effect of numerous amendments to the governing legislation and, to some degree, clarified how the eligibility of parole will be determined for various categories of prisoners. This newsletter sets out the governing legislation, explains the various amendments which have occurred, and discusses relevant case law.
ACJR Newsletter Newsletter
Central African Republic
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Jan 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of the Central African Republic.
Central African Republic Legal System
Tunisia
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Jan 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Tunisia.
Tunisia Legal System
Ethiopia
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Jan 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia Legal System
Sudan
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Jan 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Sudan.
Sudan Legal System
Somalia
Author: Jean
Published: 20 Jan 2012
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Somalia.
Somalia Legal System
Pre-Trial Justice in Sudan
Author: Jean
Published: 05 Jan 2012
by the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies.
Sudan Pre-trial
Eritrea Human Rights Watch Country Summary 2012
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Jan 2012
"Eritrea marked 20 years of independence in 2011, but its citizens remain victimized by one of the world’s most repressive governments. They suffer arbitrary and indefinite detention; torture; inhumane conditions of confinement; restrictions on freedom of speech, movement, and belief; and indefinite conscription and forced labor in national service."
Research
Caught between progress, stagnation and a reversal of some gains: Reflections on Kenya's record in implementing children's rights norms
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Jan 2012
This article was published in AHRLJ Volume 12 No 1 2012. The enactment in 2001 of the Children's Act was a significant development in the implementation of international children's rights norms in Kenya. The Act still stands as the first statute which substantially attempts to domesticate Kenya's obligations under any human rights treaty (in this case, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child). Almost a decade since the Act entered into force, there is a poignant lesson to be learned. This is that in contexts such as Kenya's, where full compliance with international child rights norms requires a process of comprehensive audit of existing laws and policies, not even the enactment of a consolidated law such as the Children's Act suffices. Rather, the process requires a continuous review of all laws, on the one hand, and the putting in place of administrative and other practical measures, on the other. A significant development is the passage of a new Constitution, 2010. However, realising this potential under the new dispensation will require decisive political commitment to ensure the allocation of resources and the institution of practical measures for the implementation of child rights-related laws. The Free Primary Education programme still stands out as an example of a positive measure geared towards addressing the situation of some of Kenya's poor children. The challenge remains of replicating its example to other key areas, including health and child support to poor families. The need for further legal provisions, for example in the area of juvenile justice, the required repeal of laws such as in relation to corporal punishment and the gaps in enforcing existing laws mean that the process of harmonising Kenyan law with CRC and the African Children's Charter is far from complete.
Kenya Research
Guinea
Author: Jean
Published: 06 Dec 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Guinea.
Guinea Legal System
30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku November 2011
Author: Gwen
Published: 01 Dec 2011
This month's edition of 30 Days/Dae/Izinsuku covers issues of governance and corruption, unsentenced prisoners, prison conditions, South Africans imprisoned abroad, parole and sentencing as well as prison related news from other African countries. Our next edition will be sent out at the end of January 2012.
Newsletter 30 Days Newsletter
Morocco
Author: Jean
Published: 25 Nov 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Morocco.
Morocco Legal System
Other Resources
Author: calitz
Published: 24 Nov 2011
South Africa Annual Report Prison Overcrowding Briefing
Chad
Author: Jean
Published: 14 Nov 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Chad.
Chad Legal System
Gabon
Author: Jean
Published: 14 Nov 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Gabon.
Gabon Legal System
Links
Author: calitz
Published: 11 Nov 2011
South Africa Links
Niger
Author: Jean
Published: 07 Nov 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Niger.
Niger Legal System
Madagascar
Author: Jean
Published: 07 Nov 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Madagascar.
Madagascar Legal System
Guide to UN Convention Against Torture in South Africa
Published: 07 Nov 2011
This publication, released in 2011, is an update to the earlier version published in 2008. It provides an up to date guide to the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) which South Africa ratified in December 1998. As a guide to the UNCAT it is aimed at civil society organisations, human rights activists and officials working with people deprived of their liberty. The guide is divided in six chapters as follows: The absolute prohibition of torture in international law; Framing the problem of torture in a South African context; The UNCAT and South Africa’s obligations; The Committee against Torture and South Africa; Recent case law; Domestic and international stakeholders in preventing and combating torture.
ACJR Publication
The law and the business of criminal record expungement in South Africa
Published: 06 Nov 2011
This report reviews the use and expungement of criminal records in South Africa and was prompted by a recent amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act which created, for the first time, a mechanism for certain criminal convictions to be expunged. The situation of criminal records and their expungement is, however, not a simple one and the creation of additional registers (Sex Offender Register, Child Protection Register and Diversion Register) have added another dimension to the issue. The overall impression from the legal framework is that different pieces of legislation use different yardsticks in respect of expungements. It is furthermore a general conclusion that the scope of the mechanism created in the Criminal Procedure is extremely narrow and that very few former offenders would in fact benefit from it. The creation of this mechanism also saw the private sector creating a profit opportunity with some companies charging amounts as high as R7 500 for handling the expungement application, a procedure that should cost no more than R100. The report concludes by recommending that the retention and expungement of criminal records should be selective, purposeful and based on knowledge.
ACJR Publication South Africa Prisons Research
Remand detention in South Africa: An overview of the current law and proposals for reform
Published: 05 Nov 2011
This research report provides an overview of the necessary research to develop possible solutions for limiting the amount of time remand detainees spend in custody. The report discusses, firstly, the bail provisions in the Criminal Procedure Act with regard to the right to liberty and in the broader constitutional notion of proportionality. Second, case law from regional and international bodies dealing with pre-trial release is explored, and third, detention time limits and automatic bail review proceedings are discussed. Fourth, the conceptual distinction between fair trial rights and liberty interests and the South African courts’ treatment of “undue delay” cases is described. The report concludes with the recommendation that a constitutional challenge, based on the Criminal Procedure Act’s failure to adequately protect the accused’s right to liberty, be brought on behalf of South Africa’s remand detainees. Such a challenge would be based on the right to liberty and argue that without custody time limits and a regular, automatic review of bail decisions, the law in relation to bail, as it currently stands, is unconstitutional.
ACJR Publication South Africa Prisons Research
Rwanda
Author: Jean
Published: 04 Nov 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Rwanda.
Rwanda Legal System
Survey of Detention Oversight Mechanisms Provided for in the Laws of SADC Countries.pdf
Published: 04 Nov 2011
Given the slow rate at which SADC countries have signed and ratified OPCAT, this paper explores existing statutory detention oversight mechanisms in the domestic laws of SADC countries with a particular emphasis on prisons. The notion of individuals or institutions visiting places of detention to inspect conditions of detention and treatment of detained persons is not new and is found even in the antiquated laws of several countries reviewed here.
Prisons Oversight South Africa Research
Botswana
Author: Jean
Published: 03 Nov 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Botswana.
Botswana Legal System
Tanzania
Author: Jean
Published: 02 Nov 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Tanzania.
Tanzania
Submissions, Presentations and Press Statements
Author: calitz
Published: 01 Nov 2011
Official submissions, presentations and press statements issued by CSPRI or by coalitions to which CSPRI is party.
Press Release ACJR Submission International legal instrument
Tuberculosis in a South African prison – a transmission modelling analysis
Author: Jean
Published: 01 Nov 2011
Simon Johnstone-Robertson, Stephen D Lawn, Alex Welte, Linda-Gail Bekker, Robin Wood. From South African Medical Journal 2011;101:809-813. Prisons are recognised internationally as institutions with very high tuberculosis (TB) burdens where transmission is predominantly determined by contact between infectious and susceptible prisoners. A recent South African court case described the conditions under which prisoners awaiting trial were kept. With the use of these data, a mathematical model was developed to explore the interactions between incarceration conditions and TB control measures
Research Health South Africa
Paul v Attorney General [2011] MWHC 10
Author: Jean
Published: 25 Oct 2011
"This matter is about the constitutionality of the applicant's detention whilst awaiting to he tried. Indeed what I am being asked to consider in this case is whether there was a breach of the reasonable time requirement as stipulated in Section 42(2)(f)(i) of the Constitution of Malawi. In this regard, I believe that the test that has to be adopted would be one that was laid down in. Attorney-General's Reference (No 1 of 1990)[1992] QJ3 630, which is that (in the absence of malpractice or misbehaviour by the prosecutor) the attention of the court is directed to the single issue whether, because of the delay which has occurred, a fair trial of the accused or defendant will or may be prejudiced."
Case law Malawi
A5I - CLC statement at the 50th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR
Author: Gwen
Published: 25 Oct 2011
This is the statement that the Community Law Centre (predecessor of the Dullah Omar Institute) and the Article 5 Initiative, a project of which CSPRI was part, made a the 50th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which was held from 24 October until 5 November 2011.
African Commission ACJR Publication Torture Press Release
Western Africa
Author: calitz
Published: 17 Oct 2011
In Western Africa there is the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS).
West Africa ECOWAS
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Author: Jean
Published: 16 Oct 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Democratic Republic of Congo Legal System
Cameroon
Author: Jean
Published: 16 Oct 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Cameroon.
Cameroon Legal System
Benin
Author: Jean
Published: 16 Oct 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Benin.
Benin Legal System
Uganda
Author: Jean
Published: 16 Oct 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Uganda.
Uganda Legal System
Mauritania
Author: Jean
Published: 15 Oct 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Mauritania.
Mauritania Legal System
Algeria
Author: Jean
Published: 15 Oct 2011
This section contains a brief description of the criminal justice system of Algerua and contains research and documents relevant to pre-trial justice in Algeria.
Algeria Pre-trial
South Sudan
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Oct 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of South Sudan.
South Sudan Legal System
Egypt
Author: Jean
Published: 12 Oct 2011
This section contains a brief description of the legal system of Egypt.
Egypt Legal System