South African criminal justice : a paradigm shift to victim-centred restorative justice?
- Authors: Apollos, Dumisani
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Restorative justice -- South Africa , Apartheid -- South Africa -- History , Democracy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:10183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020078
- Description: The focal point of this treatise is the evaluation of the paradigm shift that has taken place in our South African criminal justice system post 1994. This shift is seen as a move away from a retribution approach to a more victim-centred approach. One needs to remember that the previous regime had unfair and unjust laws: to do away with such laws an interim constitution1 was enacted in Parliament in 1993 and became operational on 27 April 1994. It was the fundamental law of South Africa. This was later repealed by the final Constitution 2 on 4 April 1997. In its preamble it states categorically that it seeks to establish a “society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights” and “(to) lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law”. One of the priorities of democratic government in 1996 was the National Crime Prevention Strategy3 (hereafter referred to as the NCPS). It was designed to reduce the high level of crime in our country and has four pillars: the criminal justice process; reducing crime through environmental design; public values and education and trans-national crime. Pillar one is seen as a move away from retribution as punishment towards a system of restorative justice 4. Furthermore the South African government is a signatory to various international laws, treaties and declarations that uphold victims’ rights. One example would be the United Nations Declaration on the Basic Principle of Justice for Victims of Crime and abuse of Power 1985 - in fact the Victims’ Charter is compliant with this declaration. Yet one cannot negate the fact that in the last two decades the status of victims has altered significantly: there has been some development in the transformation of the criminal justice system. Since 1994 the focus gradually shifted from an adversarial and retributive criminal justice to that of restorative justice. This shift is vindicated by following examples: the adoption of the NCPS; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 5 (hereafter referred to as the TRC); the adoption of the Service Charter for Victims of Crime 6(hereafter referred to as the Victims’ Charter); the enactment of the Child Justice Act7; and case laws which applied restorative justice principles such as S v Maluleke and S v Saayman. Therefore this treatise will evaluate the application of a restorative system by looking at the definition of restorative justice; government commitments to the system; the enactment of Acts and policies that support the system. This will be done in relation to the victims.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Apollos, Dumisani
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Restorative justice -- South Africa , Apartheid -- South Africa -- History , Democracy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:10183 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020078
- Description: The focal point of this treatise is the evaluation of the paradigm shift that has taken place in our South African criminal justice system post 1994. This shift is seen as a move away from a retribution approach to a more victim-centred approach. One needs to remember that the previous regime had unfair and unjust laws: to do away with such laws an interim constitution1 was enacted in Parliament in 1993 and became operational on 27 April 1994. It was the fundamental law of South Africa. This was later repealed by the final Constitution 2 on 4 April 1997. In its preamble it states categorically that it seeks to establish a “society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights” and “(to) lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law”. One of the priorities of democratic government in 1996 was the National Crime Prevention Strategy3 (hereafter referred to as the NCPS). It was designed to reduce the high level of crime in our country and has four pillars: the criminal justice process; reducing crime through environmental design; public values and education and trans-national crime. Pillar one is seen as a move away from retribution as punishment towards a system of restorative justice 4. Furthermore the South African government is a signatory to various international laws, treaties and declarations that uphold victims’ rights. One example would be the United Nations Declaration on the Basic Principle of Justice for Victims of Crime and abuse of Power 1985 - in fact the Victims’ Charter is compliant with this declaration. Yet one cannot negate the fact that in the last two decades the status of victims has altered significantly: there has been some development in the transformation of the criminal justice system. Since 1994 the focus gradually shifted from an adversarial and retributive criminal justice to that of restorative justice. This shift is vindicated by following examples: the adoption of the NCPS; the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 5 (hereafter referred to as the TRC); the adoption of the Service Charter for Victims of Crime 6(hereafter referred to as the Victims’ Charter); the enactment of the Child Justice Act7; and case laws which applied restorative justice principles such as S v Maluleke and S v Saayman. Therefore this treatise will evaluate the application of a restorative system by looking at the definition of restorative justice; government commitments to the system; the enactment of Acts and policies that support the system. This will be done in relation to the victims.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
The manufacture of chaos and compromise: an analysis of the path to reform in South Africa
- Authors: Ryklief, Cheryl Cecelia
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Apartheid -- South Africa -- History , South Africa -- Race relations , Black people -- South Africa -- Politics and government , South Africa -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: text , thesis
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76218 , vital:30521
- Description: This dissertation examines the factors leading to the opening of negotiations to majority rule in South Africa. It argues that changes to the socio-economic environment led to the growth of the strategic relevance of the black working class, and also created certain points of collision between the black working class and the policies of the state. These sectoral collisions engendered both the partial reforms of the Botha era as well as the rejection of these reforms by the black majority. The developments that emerged from the ensuing process of reform, resistance and repression in the 1980s weakened both the state and the black opposition sufficiently to allow for the emergence of a consensual solution to the political stalemate. , Dissertation submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Master of Arts
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
- Authors: Ryklief, Cheryl Cecelia
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Apartheid -- South Africa -- History , South Africa -- Race relations , Black people -- South Africa -- Politics and government , South Africa -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: text , thesis
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76218 , vital:30521
- Description: This dissertation examines the factors leading to the opening of negotiations to majority rule in South Africa. It argues that changes to the socio-economic environment led to the growth of the strategic relevance of the black working class, and also created certain points of collision between the black working class and the policies of the state. These sectoral collisions engendered both the partial reforms of the Botha era as well as the rejection of these reforms by the black majority. The developments that emerged from the ensuing process of reform, resistance and repression in the 1980s weakened both the state and the black opposition sufficiently to allow for the emergence of a consensual solution to the political stalemate. , Dissertation submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Master of Arts
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
Land, labour and African affairs, 1924-1934
- Authors: Lacey, Marian
- Date: 1979
- Subjects: Apartheid -- South Africa -- History , Land tenure -- South Africa , Labor and laboring classes -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1909-1948
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2581 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004602
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1979
- Authors: Lacey, Marian
- Date: 1979
- Subjects: Apartheid -- South Africa -- History , Land tenure -- South Africa , Labor and laboring classes -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1909-1948
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2581 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004602
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1979
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