LETTER: Skilled law-making is surest way to stop weakness in criminal justice administration
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During his televised marathon session with media notables on September 9, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphatically insisted that he is determined to deal with corruption. This most welcome mindset is essential to generating the political will that has long been the missing ingredient in the national longing to end grand corruption with impunity.
There is, however, another element that is required to actualise the ANC national executive committee resolution that requires the cabinet to urgently establish a permanent, independent entity to see off the corrupt: skill in the revision of the legal framework for countering the corrupt needs to be brought to bear to make that resolution the lived reality in the criminal justice administration.
It is common cause that neither the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) nor the Hawks has the necessary capacity, resourcing, personnel and experience to mount complex corruption prosecutions in the numbers needed. Nor is there any prospect of either the NPA or the Hawks being able to attract the right personnel in time to save SA from failure as a state. It takes up to 20 years to train a prosecutor in the intricacies of defeating defences put up by wily senior counsel retained by the corrupt who are brought to trial.
Skilled law-making that properly takes on board the criteria set by the Constitutional Court in the Glenister litigation, is the safest, surest and best-practice way in which to address the lack of strength in criminal justice administration with regard to countering the corrupt. If the determination claimed is applied skilfully to fulfilling the wishes of the NEC (which happily coincide with those of the courts), it will be possible to establish a body capable of seeing off the corrupt effectively and efficiently.
Strong institutions of government are required by UN sustainable development goal number 16: neither the Hawks nor the NPA have any prospect of being strong enough to deal with grand corruption any time soon enough; a new Chapter Nine institution with a mandate to investigate and prosecute corruption is required.
With determination and skill, it can be established. The Hawks have other priority crimes to attend to and the NPA will be better able to deal with gender-based violence and common law crimes without the burden of countering grand corruption.
Paul Hoffman SC, Accountability Now
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There is, however, another element that is required to actualise the ANC national executive committee resolution that requires the cabinet to urgently establish a permanent, independent entity to see off the corrupt: skill in the revision of the legal framework for countering the corrupt needs to be brought to bear to make that resolution the lived reality in the criminal justice administration.
It is common cause that neither the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) nor the Hawks has the necessary capacity, resourcing, personnel and experience to mount complex corruption prosecutions in the numbers needed. Nor is there any prospect of either the NPA or the Hawks being able to attract the right personnel in time to save SA from failure as a state. It takes up to 20 years to train a prosecutor in the intricacies of defeating defences put up by wily senior counsel retained by the corrupt who are brought to trial.
Skilled law-making that properly takes on board the criteria set by the Constitutional Court in the Glenister litigation, is the safest, surest and best-practice way in which to address the lack of strength in criminal justice administration with regard to countering the corrupt. If the determination claimed is applied skilfully to fulfilling the wishes of the NEC (which happily coincide with those of the courts), it will be possible to establish a body capable of seeing off the corrupt effectively and efficiently.
Strong institutions of government are required by UN sustainable development goal number 16: neither the Hawks nor the NPA have any prospect of being strong enough to deal with grand corruption any time soon enough; a new Chapter Nine institution with a mandate to investigate and prosecute corruption is required.
With determination and skill, it can be established. The Hawks have other priority crimes to attend to and the NPA will be better able to deal with gender-based violence and common law crimes without the burden of countering grand corruption.
Paul Hoffman SC, Accountability Now
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be ...