Diversion in the South African criminal justice system: Emerging jurisprudence

by | Oct 13, 2019 | SACJ, SACJ V28 I1 2015

Diversion in the South African criminal justice system: Emerging jurisprudence

Authors Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: Associate Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Research Fellow, Community Law Centre, UWC
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 28 Issue 1, p. 40 – 58

Abstract

On 1 April 2010 the South African Child Justice Act (CJA or the Act) commenced. The long title of the Act states, inter alia, that the purpose of the Act is ‘to establish a criminal justice system for children, who are in conflict with the law and are accused of committing offences, in accordance with the values underpinning the Constitution and the international obligations of the Republic’. The Act provides, inter alia, that a child who has committed any offence may be diverted from the criminal justice system. Case law has started emerging from South African courts dealing with some of the sections of the Act. The purpose of this article is to highlight how courts have interpreted or applied some of the sections of the Act.

Defence challenges of forensic scientific evidence in criminal proceedings in South Africa

by | Oct 13, 2019 | SACJ, SACJ V28 I1 2015

Defence challenges of forensic scientific evidence in criminal proceedings in South Africa

Authors Jo-Mari Visser

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: Senior Lecturer in Law, University of the Free State
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 28 Issue 1, p. 24 – 39

Abstract

This article seeks to understand the roles of the two adversarial parties involved in the presentation and testing of forensic scientific evidence in criminal proceedings in South Africa, and to predict the future of challenging expert evidence in developing countries. The traditional roles of parties to an adversarial criminal trial are reviewed, with specific focus on the practice of challenging forensic scientific evidence presented by the prosecution, as are developments in the American legal system with reference to the effectiveness of challenging expert evidence presented by the prosecution. The possible impact of these developments on the future constitutionality of legal representation as practised in South Africa, is also briefly considered. The importance of reliable forensic scientific evidence employed in criminal proceedings necessitates not only the presentation of accurate forensic evidence by both adversarial parties, but also the informed cross-examination of opposing experts. This, in turn, demands equality in the adversarial battle, which, as it currently stands, does not exist in developing countries such as South Africa.

The South African National Drug Master Plan 2013-2017: A critical review

by | Oct 13, 2019 | SACJ, SACJ V28 I1 2015

The South African National Drug Master Plan 2013-2017: A critical review

Authors Simon Howell, Katherine Couzyn

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: URC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Centre of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town; Library and Information Manager in the Centre of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 28 Issue 1, p. 1 – 23

Abstract

In August 2013 the South African government released the newly revised National Drug Master Plan 2013-2017. The plan is intended to provide a central reference for the country’s drug regulation and elimination efforts. As this article documents, the plan is however riddled with internal inconsistencies and impractical resolutions. As a result, it will be extremely difficult to implement and unlikely to find utility in many South African cities and communities. The authors further argue that the plan has been designed in such a way that it absolves the government of any responsibility should it fail. It does so by subtly ensuring that blame for drug use can continue to be placed on the individual. This requires a punitive understanding of drug use, which is in direct contrast to the stated framework of the plan. As such, we argue that while the plan speaks the language of reform, it is actually far more concerned with continuing to treat drug regulation in South Africa as a matter of criminal justice.

Index

by | Oct 13, 2019 | SACJ, SACJ V29 I3 2016

Index

Authors Rosemary Kühn

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 29 Issue 3, p. iii – xxiv

Abstract

None