The Deputy Ministers in the Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster welcomed today, Thursday 20 February 2025 the publication of the discussion papers on the review of the Criminal Procedure Act released by the South African Law Reform Commission at a media briefing in Pretoria.
The Review of the Criminal Procedure Act 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. This is a sub-project of the overall review of the Criminal Justice System.
In November 2023, former Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Mr Ronald Lamola appointed an Advisory Committee consisting of eight experts chaired by the former Judge President of Mpumalanga, Justice Francis Legodi to advise the Law Reform Commission on the review of the Criminal Justice System. The Law Reform Commission is currently chaired by former Constitutional Court judge, Justice Chris Jafta.
The Advisory Committee has conducted a number of targeted consultations and convened a Conference on the Integrated Criminal Justice System and the Review of the Criminal Procedure Act on 27 - 29 February 2024. The Committee includes project partners such as the South African Police Service (SAPS), Civilian Secretariat for Police, Correctional Services, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Legal Aid South Africa (LASA), and the Integrated Justice System project.
Today the Commission released four discussion papers that cover the pre-trial stage: (1) Arrest Dispensation Reform; (2) Bail System Reform; (3) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); and (4) Victim Centric Reforms. Speaking at the release of the papers, the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mr Andries Nel said “We must transform our criminal justice system, including the Criminal Procedure Act, to be more effective, efficient, integrated, victim-centered 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.” Deputy Minister said.
The discussion papers further give an opportunity to ordinary members of the public who have pointed out that the current criminal justice system is an oppressive and untransformed relic of Apartheid that does not reflect the values and rights enshrined in the Constitution. Others have said that the Constitution goes overboard, and that criminals enjoy more rights than law-abiding citizens, especially victims of crime.
Deputy Minister Nel further said the discussion papers do not reflect the views of Government or any of the Departments or institutions. “They 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”. He said. The South African Law Reform Commission looks forward to receiving written submissions from all sectors of society. 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 etc. The discussion papers are available on the Law Reform Commission website: https://www.justice.gov.za/salrc/dpapers.htm
The deadline for inputs is 31 March 2025.
For enquiries:
Ms Kgalalelo Masibi
Chief Director: Communication Management
Cell: 065 7470 323
