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Zuma questions rights of criminals
6 July 2009
President Jacob Zuma has called for the reassessment of the approach through which the perpetrators of crime are granted bail in South Africa.
He said the country cannot afford to have a perception that the rights of criminals were being prioritised over those of victims.
“Communities see alleged perpetrators arrested and then swiftly released only to commit further crimes or to intimidate witnesses, ” President Zuma said, in his address to the second Judicial Conference for judges underway outside Pretoria. “The Victims' Charter is intended to promote the rights and services provided to victims of crime,” he said.
While the intentions behind the Charter had been welcomed by many, much more remained to be done if consistent concerns expressed by the public were to be addressed,” added President Zuma.
He said the perception that criminals received preferential treatment above the rights of victims proved to be an issue when it came to access to justice for the victims.
Meanwhile, President Zuma has recommended the finalisation of the Superior Courts Bill to create a single judiciary.
He said the Bill has not been finalised yet because it raised many issues that required further consultation with the judiciary, adding that government will encourage such consultation.
“Some of the key policy positions that the Bill seeks to address are, among others the rationalisation of the composition, areas of jurisdiction and structures of the superior courts which are still largely constituted in accordance with the superior court Act of 1959,” President Zuma said.
These needed to be suited to the post-1994 constitutional order, he said.
“We need to move towards integrating the Judicial Service Commission and the Magistrate 's Commission into a single appointment mechanism, ” the President said. He further said, through the Bill, the country should also move towards establishing a single grievance procedure for all judicial officers.
President Zuma said government will also move swiftly to speed up the drafting and processing of the Legal Practice Bill.
“Similar to the courts, the legal profession is still regulated by pre-1992 legislation,” said President Zuma adding the Bill aimed to remedy this.
He said the legal profession was divided into attorneys and advocates, something which created a challenge for the public, especially the poor.
“They have to go to more than one lawyer to have a dispute resolved, which is costly and time-consuming,” President Zuma said.
Chris Bathembu, www.buanews.gov.za
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