8th Dullah Omar Memorial Lecture
CSPRI - Other Publications
Up one levelA collection of our other CSPRI publications.
Guide to the UN Convention against Torture in South Africa
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.
The law and the business of criminal record expungement in South Africa
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.
Remand detention in South Africa: An overview of the current law and proposals for reform
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.
Survey of Detention Oversight Mechanisms Provided for in the Laws of SADC Countries
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.
A guide to the rights of inmates as described in the Correctional Services Act and Regulations (revised 2010)
The Correctional Services Act (111 of 1998) was promulgated in 2004 creating a rights-based framework for South Africa’s prison system. In 2008 the Correctional Services Act was amended by the Correctional Services Amendment Act (25 of 2008). This guide, originally published in 2006, has been updated to incorporate the changes to the 1998 Correctional Services Act following the recent amendment. The purpose of this guide is to describe in an accessible and user-friendly format the human rights framework pertaining to inmates in South Africa based on the Constitution, Correctional Services Act and the Regulations accompanying the legislation. Where appropriate, reference is made to other legislation when this has a direct bearing on the rights of inmates. Care was, however, taken to focus on the rights of inmates and the guide should thus not be seen as a guide prison law in South Africa or even as a plain language guide to the complete Correctional Services Act. Large parts of this Act deal, for instance, with the operations and management of the Department of Correctional Service and do not have a direct bearing on the rights of inmates.
Roundtable Discussion on the White Paper on Corrections in South Africa
In March 2005 the Department of Correctional Services released the White Paper on Corrections in South Africa which articulated a new 20-year vision for the correctional system. This vision articulates an antithesis of what was inherited from the previous regime. But it does raise serious questions about its attainability. Nearly five years into the implementation of the White Paper, results in respect of rehabilitation services to prisoners remain modest. The lack of budgetary alignment to the vision of the White Paper has also been remarked upon by Parliament. In many regards, conditions of detention fail to meet the minimum standards set out in the Constitution and the Correctional Services Act. This roundtable discussion focussed on a critical examination of the White Paper as a policy document and also on progress towards realising the objectives of the White Paper. Some may argue that the White Paper has made a valuable contribution by providing the Department with a new purpose and paradigm, whilst others state that meeting the minimum standards of humane detention is a pre-requisite for large scale rehabilitation services. Did the ambitious vision of the White Paper set the Department up for failure?
Roundtable Discussion on the 2008/9 Annual Report of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services
The second, in a series of three roundtable discussion, focused on the 2008/9 Annual Report of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services. Since its establishment in 1998 the Inspectorate has made a valuable contribution to promoting and protecting prisoners’ rights and South Africa. The Inspectorate has the mandate to inspect prisons in order that the Inspecting Judge may report on the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons. After nearly a decade in existence, it is necessary to examine how the Inspectorate has fulfilled its mandate and how oversight over the prison can be improved in cooperation with other stakeholders, such as civil society, Parliament and the academic community. The discussion focused on the state of correctional centre and the prevention of human rights violations.