for the Western Cape
30 May 2007
The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development, Mrs B S Mabandla
(MP) officially opened the first Commercial Crimes Court for the Western Cape,
at the Commissioner House Building in Bellville today.
White-collar crime is one of the hardest forms of corruption to prosecute
due to the degree of sophistication utilised by national and international
syndicates to siphon money off the economy. The perpetrators normally have the
resources and ability to avoid detection, circumvent the law and if detected,
use their considerable resources and knowledge of the internal company system
to frustrate the legal process, therefore making it especially difficult to
prosecute.
The establishment of Commercial Crimes courts is therefore rooted in an
acknowledgment that certain categories of crime need to be treated differently.
It takes special skills and abilities to be able to unravel the sheer depth and
intricacies inherent in some white-collar crimes. The Commercial Crimes Court
brings together the various primary stakeholders working in unison with the
sole purpose of improving the professional quality and service levels
throughout the chain of investigation, prosecution and concluding with
adjudication.
This approach, adopted with regard to specialisation, has resulted in the
formation of a strong base of qualified, experienced and dedicated
investigators, prosecutors and adjudicators.
Co-operation between the Security Cluster partners (South African Police
Service) African Public Service (APS), Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development (DOJ&CD), National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Judiciary)
as well as the business partners, (Business Against Crime) led to the
establishment of these courts. The Specialised Commercial Crimes Court model
was first launched in 1999 in Pretoria to bring specialisation and adjudication
of commercial crimes.
Since then such courts were established for Johannesburg, Durban, Port
Elizabeth and now Bellville.
Enquires:
Zolile Nqayi
Cell: 083 278 8018
Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
30 May 2007
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (http://doj.gov.za)
