Multimedia

Accountability means “being responsible for your decisions or actions, and explaining them when you are asked”. The NPA is the only entity in South Africa with the power to institute criminal prosecutions – in other words, to hold people and companies criminally accountable. The Constitution also requires the NPA itself to be accountable. Prosecutors have wide discretionary powers, but this does not mean they can do as they please. They must account for how they meet their responsibilities and for corrective actions taken, where appropriate. This infographic looks at key concepts around accountability and unpacks the accountability relationships of the NPA.

Legislation empowers the President to establish Investigating Directorates within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The offences it may investigate must be submitted to Parliament and published in the Government Gazette. During the Mandela Presidency there were two Investigating Directorates. These Directorates later became the DSO or Scorpions. When Zuma became president, the DSO was replaced with the Hawks in the police. In 2019, President Ramaphosa established a new Investigating Directorate within the NPA. This infographic provides an overview of the mandate, powers and future of Investigating Directorates.

O que é o policiamento democrático? É o mesmo que policiamento numa democracia? Será que sabemos o que podemos esperar da polícia? O que gera confiança na polícia, e o que a corrói? Para investigar estas e outras questões relacionadas, a Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) fez uma extensa pesquisa sobre o policiamento democrático e desenvolveu um quadro conceptual que define quais são as variáveis de entrada, de saída e o produto para alcançar o resultado final, nomeadamente um serviço policial que goza de legitimidade. Nove variáveis inter-relacionadas e que se reforçam mutuamente distinguem-se para produzir o resultado do policiamento democrático, o que é pelo menos três coisas: a polícia defende e protege o estado de direito; a polícia é responsável, e a polícia trabalha ao serviço do público de uma forma processualmente justa.

كان مركز إصلاح العدالة الجنائية في أفريقيا (ACJR) منذ إنشائه عضوًا في حملة "الفقر ليس جريمة - عدم تجريم الفقر والوضع الاجتماعي". وظلت الحملة تعمل منذ عدة سنوات واتسع نطاقها لتشمل جميع المناطق الأفريقية. وقد برزت أيضًا شعبية لها في أماكن أخرى من العالم. يعكس مخطط المعلومات البياني هذا أبرز العناوين الرئيسية للحملة وإنجازاتها حتى الوقت الحالي.

ACJR has since its inception been a member of the campaign "Poverty is not a crime - the decriminalisation of poverty and status". The campaign has been running for a number of years and expanded to all African regions. It has also found traction elsewhere in the world. This infographic reflects on the campaign high-lights and achievements to date.

A ACJR tem sido, desde a sua criação, membro da campanha "Pobreza não é crime - a descriminalização da pobreza e do estatuto social de uma pessoa". A campanha está em andamento há vários anos e se expandiu para todas as regiões Africanas. Também ampliou-se em outras partes do mundo. Este infográfico mostra os destaques e conquistas da campanha até o momento.

L'Organisation pour la Réforme de la Justice Pénale en Afrique (ACJR) est depuis sa création membre de la campagne "La pauvreté n'est pas un crime - la dépénalisation de la pauvreté et du statut". La campagne est en cours depuis plusieurs années et s'est étendue à toutes les régions africaines. La campagne a également trouvé une traction ailleurs dans le monde. Cette infographie reflète les réalisations de la campagne à ce jour.

Julius Osega Memorial Lecture 2021

On 16 July 2021, the Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, and the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, hosted the Julius Osega Memorial Lecture. The lecture was themed "Poverty is not a crime - Undoing colonial criminal justice” and was delivered by Ms. Anneke Meerkotter, Executive Director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and Commissioner Chikondi Chijozi of the Malawi Human Rights Commission.

What is democratic policing? Is it the same as policing in a democracy? Do we know what we can expect from the police? What builds trust in the police, and what erodes it? To investigate these and related questions, ACJR did extensive research on democratic policing and developed a conceptual framework to set out what the input variables, outputs and outcomes should be to attain the ultimate result, namely a police service that enjoys legitimacy. Nine interrelated and mutually reinforcing dimensions are distinguished to produce the result of democratic policing, which is at least three things: the police uphold and protect the rule of law; the police are accountable, and the police work in service of the public in a procedurally fair manner.

Three key concepts are associated with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and its relation to the public, namely accountability, public interest and trust. It is suggested that for the NPA to be regarded as a legitimate institution it needs to enjoy trust and in order to enjoy such trust, it needs to be seen and perceived to act in the public interest in an accountable manner.

This infographic considers the performance of the National Prosecuting Authority since inception.

This infographic sets out the current procedure for the appointment and dismissal of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and identifies problems and concerns.

This infographic deals with the history and structure of the prosecution authority before and after 1994, with the independence of the prosecution authority oscillated between extreme points with reference to the relationship with the executive. The historical developments of the prosecution authority must be seen against the devolution and centralisation of prosecutorial power and its independence, or not, from political control and interference.

Estudo Comparação sobre Constitucionalidade da Legislação Penal e Penitenciaria; Constitucionalidade da Legislação Penal e Penitenciaria em Moçambique. Estudo de Comparação sobre Caução; Estudo sobre Caução em Moçambique.

O projeto procurou compreender e quantificar a forma como a decisão de deter um arguido afecta os direitos socioeconómicos, isto é, os recursos dos indivíduos, inclusive aqueles além das pessoas em prisão. Os locais de reclusão, selecionados para o estudo, estão situados nos principais centros urbanos do Quênia (Nairobi), Moçambique (Maputo) e Zâmbia (Lusaka). O projeto descobriu que, embora existam semelhanças significativas observadas entre os três Centros Urbanos, também há notáveis tendências particulares, no impacto socioeconómico em cada país.

The new Chief Justice of Kenya launched a detailed report on the criminal justice system of Kenya. The report was prepared for the National Council on the Administration of Justice by the Legal Resources Foundation Trust (LRF) and Resources Oriented Development Initiatives (RODI-Kenya) assisted by ACJR.

Every year thousands of people in Africa are arrested and detained in Africa for petty offences, many dating back to colonial times such as being ‘a rogue and vagabond’. The following organisations participated in creating this clip: Open Society Foundations, Southern Africa Litigation Centre, International Commissioner of Jurists (Kenya Section), Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA)(Malawi), African Policing and Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), ACJR (formerly CSPRI) and the Pan African Lawyers Union.

Chaque année, des milliers de personnes en Afrique sont arrêtées et détenues en Afrique pour des infractions mineures, dont beaucoup remontent à l'époque coloniale, y compris le fait d'être « un voyou et vagabond ».