The NPA has studied the SCA judgment and consulted with its legal team regarding the legal issues raised in the judgment handed down by the SCA in Bloemfontein on 20 March 2012.
After considering the legal issues, the NPA has decided that it will not appeal against the judgement to the Constitutional Court and that it will follow the process set out in the judgement.
The SCA had ruled that the Acting National Director of Public Prosecution (NDDP), as first respondent in the appeal proceedings by the Democratic Alliance (DA), should file a reduced record of the proceedings that informed the decision of the then Acting NDPP Advocate Mokotedi Mpshe to discontinue prosecution.
This decision was informed by the following factors:
- The judgment dealt with preliminary issues that had no direct impact on Advocate Mpshe's decision and did not deal with the merits of the decision.
- The judgment only decided on the issue of DA’s locus standi (legal standing) to challenge that decision by way of review.
- Pursuing an appeal will result in piecemeal litigation and unnecessary delays as the merits of the review will still have to be determined in the event of the Constitutional Court dismissing the appeal.
- Consequently it would not be in the interests of justice to request the Constitutional Court to deal with an appeal against SCA judgment at this stage.
We wish to emphasise that the decision taken by Advocate Mpshe still stands as the court has not yet ruled on its merits. The NPA believes that it was the correct decision and will continue to defend it in court. Once there is a final court ruling on the merits, the NPA will respect the outcome as it always does. The NPA is currently in the process of preparing the reduced record for filing as required by the SCA judgment.
