CSPRI Newsletter No. 12 - August 2005
In this issue: Interview with Dennis Bloem MP, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services; Members of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services and their contact details; South African prison at a glance
Magida v The State Case No 515-04 Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa August 2005
Code de Procédure Pénale du Cameroun
Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 2005
An Act to amend the Criminal Code and for matters connected therewith.
Equatorial Guinea: A Trial with Too Many Flaws
"The prison conditions this group of prisoners have endured in pre and post-trial detention are particularly harsh. This is aggravated by the fact that they are foreigners with no family in Equatorial Guinea and no, or limited, knowledge of the Spanish language. Furthermore, they seem to have been subjected to treatment which is considerably harsher than that of their codefendants. - The Equatorial Guinean authorities must immediately end the incommunicado detention of all prisoners currently being held incommunicado in Equatorial Guinea; - improve the conditions of imprisonment under which all prisoners are held, including by providing them with an adequate diet and prompt and adequate medical treatment as needed; - allow the prisoners visits by their lawyers and, in the case of the foreign nationals, by consular representatives from their countries, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; - make all efforts to facilitate family visits whenever the families request them; - encourage frequent visits to the prison by the ICRC."
Código de Processo Penal de Cabo Verde (2005)
CSPRI Newsletter No. 11 - June 2005
In this issue: Lukas Muntingh talks about the CSPRI project moving over to the Community Law Centre, UWC; Amanda Dissel (CSVR) writes on an intergrated approach to offender reintegration; Frikkie Venter (Mangaung Correctional Centre) touches on the human impact in prisons with regards to HIV/AIDS; Stats in brief
Penal Code of Ethiopia (2005)
2005 Penal Code repealing the Penal Code (1957) and Penal Procedure Code (1957)
Sibiya and Others v The Director of Public Prosecutions and Others Case CCT 45-04 Constitutional Court of South Africa May 2005
Community Service in Uganda as an Alternative to Imprisonment: A Case Study of Masaka and Mukono Districts
by Charles Birungi Mini-Thesis Presented to the Institute for Social Development, Faculty of Arts, University of the Western Cape, in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the MA Degree in Development Studies p66: "... community service sentencing procedures are lengthier and involve much more paper work than the normal court proceedings...This lengthy process leads to an increase in the number of the prison population on remand ..."
CSPRI Newsletter No. 10 - April 2005
Articles available for download are: Prison reform in Africa: recent trends by Makubetse Sekhonyane (senior researcher for the Crime & Justice Programme, Institute fro Security Studies); The quanitative impact of Minister of Home Affairs v Nicro (Constitutional Court case where the Electoral Laws Amendment Act was declared unconstitutional); South African prisons at a glance, from February 2004 to November 2004.
Tanzania: the death sentence institutionalised?
This report, by the Legal Human Rights Centre (Tanzania) and the International Federation for Human Rights, on the death sentence in Tanzania contains some information in Chapter V about the duration of pre-trial detention and the conditions of pre-trial detention in Tanzania.
CSPRI Newsletter No. 9 - February 2005
In this issue: Women and Prisons in South Africa by Prof. Julia Sloth-Nielsen (this article is based on a survey examining the situation of women in South African prisons); South African Prisons at a glance, from February 2004 to October 2004; Farewell to Ahmed Othmani: a passionate defender of human dignity
Power-point Presentation on the Overview of Prisons Policy in South Africa: 1994-2002
The power-point presentation highlights the prison policy from 1994 to 2002 in South Africa.
Annual Report of South Africa's Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services (2004)
This document provides an overview of the work of South Africa's Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services for the 2004 calendar year.
CSPRI Newsletter No. 8 - December 2004
Johnny Steinberg writes on Prison Gangs in this short issue.
Curb the Vengeance: Laws on minimum sentencing and parole spell worsening prison conditions
Inspecting Judge for Prisons in South Africa, Judge Fagan, addresses the consequences that the minimum sentencing legislation passed in 1997 will have on overcrowding in South African prisons.
Constitution of the Central African Republic 2004
Approved on 5th December 2004
Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights meeting at its 40th Ordinary Session, held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 15 - 29 November 2006: Recalling its mandate under Article 45(b) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) “to formulate and lay down principles and rules aimed at solving legal problems relating to human and peoples’ rights and fundamental freedoms upon which African states may base their legislation”; Recalling Articles 7 and 26 of the Charter, which guarantee the right to a fair trial and legal counsel before independent courts; Recalling its Resolution on the Right to Recourse and Fair Trial, adopted at its 11th Ordinary Session in Tunis, Tunisia in 1992; Recalling further its Resolution on the Respect and Strengthening of the Independence of the Judiciary, adopted at its 19th Ordinary Session in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1996; Recognising its Resolution on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, adopted at its 26th Ordinary Session in Rwanda in 1999; Recalling the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, adopted in 2001; Concerned with the continued lack of legal aid in most parts of Africa and its adverse impact on the right to access to justice in Africa; Supports the Lilongwe Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa , adopted by the Conference on Legal Aid in Criminal Justice: the Role of Lawyers, Non-Lawyers and other Service Providers, Lilongwe , Malawi , November 2004; Urges all stakeholders to make every effort to make these declarations widely known in Africa and invites State Parties to the Charter to take into account the principles in the Declaration when formulating policies and domestic legislation; Appeals to Member States to take all necessary measures in order to uphold their obligations under the Charter and other international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights providing for the right to fair trial and access to justice; Calls on Members States to extend their full collaboration with the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa in monitoring prisons and conditions of detention in Africa. Done in Banjul , The Gambia, 29th November 2006.
Constituição da República de Moçambique 2004
The Constitution of Mozambique 2004 in Portuguese.
Constitution of Mozambique 2004 in 'English'
This English version of the Constitution of Mozambique has been directly translated from Portuguese using Google Translate.
South African Prisoner's Right to Vote: Addendum to "Prisoners' Rights Litigation in South Africa since 1994: a Critical Evaluation" (Research Paper 3A)
Subsequent to the Constitutional Court case in which the right of prisoners to vote was secured prior to the 2004 general election (Min of Home Affairs v NICRO), this is an addendum to Pierre de Vos's paper on the impact of litigation to promote the rights of prisoners
Report of the Evaluation of the Independent Prison Visitors (IPV) System (Research Paper No. 5)
In 1999 the relevant sections of the Correctional Services Act was promulgated to provide for the establishment of the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons. The Independent Prisons Visitor, as provided for in the Act, is the main mechanism of the Judicial Inspectorate to hear and address the complaints of prisoners. With hundreds of Independents Prison Visitors appointed by 2003, this paper reviews the effectiveness of the system to address the complaints of prisoners.
Alternative Sentencing Review (Research Paper No 6)
Whilst the South African legislation makes ample provision for non-custodial sentencing options, practice reveals that these sentencing options are severely under utilized. Research in a number of jurisdictions reveals a system beset by practical problems, lack of knowledge, infrastructure problems, and attitudinal obstacles. Practical recommendations are provided on promoting non-custodial sentencing options as a result of the research.
A Review of the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons of South Africa (Research Paper No. 7)
This paper reviews the effectiveness of the Judicial Inspectorate in fulfilling this mandate as an oversight structure. Report by Saras Jagwanth
Regulations to the Correctional Services Act Government Gazette No. 26626
Regulations to the Correctional Services Act Government Gazette No 26626
CSPRI Newsletter No. 7 - October 2004
This issue consists of the following articles: Review of the Correctional Services Budget 2004/5 to 2006/7, written by Lukas Muntingh; Milestones reached for the establishment of a human rights basis for corrections, written by Prof. Julia Sloth-Nielsen (published in the Mail and Guardian, 10-17 September 2004; SA Prisons at a glance (February 2004 to May 2004)
State Violence in Benin
Alternative report to the Committee on Human Rights. Association des Femmes Juristes du Bénin, Enfants Solidaires d'Afrique et du Monde, Human Rights Task Group, & Organisation Mondiale contre la torture.
Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services Report: Solutions & Recommendations to Prison Overcrowding
The problem of overcrowding within the South African prison system has been identified as a key challenge, which negatively affects the ability of the Department of Correctional Service (DCS) to rehabilitate offenders. The first objective of the report is to describe the main causes and consequences of overcrowding. Secondly, is to highlight some of the current initiatives to address the problem of overcrowding in prisons. Lastly, the report seeks to identify specific recommendations by the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services to alleviate prison overcrowding.
