The review seeks to address systemic challenges in the Act, particularly in relation to provisions that deal with arrest, bail, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and victim participation in the criminal justice process.
On Thursday, the South African Law Reform Commission, released at least four discussion papers covering the pre-trial stage on:
At the release of the discussion papers, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Andries Nel spoke on the need to transform the justice system.
“We must transform our criminal justice system, including the Criminal Procedure Act, to be more effective, efficient, integrated, victim-cantered and in keeping with the Constitution.
“We must ensure that we generate well-informed, evidence-based dialogue and discussion through national dialogue with the widest participation by practitioners, experts, academics - and most importantly, the people of South Africa cries and concerns raised on their right to be safe and feel safe.
“[The released documents] are only discussion papers produced by the Advisory Committee and released by the Law Reform Commission to engender public debate and discussion and to solicit views and inputs,” Nel said.
The review of the Criminal Procedure Act was initiated in November 2023 by former Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola and seeks to identify and resolve systemic challenges in the Act.
An advisory committee of experts led by former Judge President of Mpumalanga Justice Francis Legodi was then formulated to advise the Law Reform Commission on the review.
The Justice department said members of the public are encouraged to comment on the discussion documents which are available at https://www.justice.gov.za/salrc/dpapers.htm
“Workshops in the provinces will focus on engaging grassroots communities to get their views on the proposed recommendations.
“Submissions will be studied and considered to refine the final recommendations informed by the experiences of citizens, legal practitioners, academia,” the department said.
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