Submissions

Official submissions, presentations and press statements issued by CSPRI or by coalitions to which CSPRI is party.

Sixteen organisations submitted a statement on pre-trial detention on 25 October 2011 calling on the African Commission to adopt a set of measures to guide police agencies in their work on pre-trial detention.

The submission deals with the Implementation of the Geneva Conventions Bill and addresses: lack of a definition of “grave breaches”; the criminalisation of all breaches not of a grave nature; the need to determine the sentence; and applicable law.

The submission deals with two bills, being the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Bill and the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Bill. The first places the emphasis on the absolute prohibition of torture and argues for the inclusion of the crime of torture into the bill and strengthening the investigative powers of the proposed Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) as well as its independence. In respect of the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Bill attention is paid to establishing a detention visiting mechanism to enhance transparency in line with OPCAT.

This submission discusses the South African Implementation of the Geneva Conventions Bill 10 of 2011, which aimed at domesticating the Geneva Conventions into South Africa's domestic legal framework. The Implementation of the Geneva Conventions Act was adopted in 2012 (Act 8 of 2012).

This submission addresses the Department of Correctional Services’ responses to the comments made by stakeholders on the Correctional Matters Amendment Bill during the public hearings of 25 January 2011.

The submission to the South African Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services deals with the Correctional Matters Amendment Bill.

This is the statement that the Community Law Centre (predecessor of the Dullah Omar Institute) made a the 48th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which was held from 10 to 24 November 2010. The submission addresses the issue of children deprived of liberty in South Africa.

This submission to the South African Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on theCriminal Procedure Amendment Bill (Bill 39 of 2010) discusses the amendments to section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act (use of deadly force by police) and its deviation from the Constitutional Court case Ex parte Minister of Safety and Security: In re S v Walters. The Bill was adopted in 21012 (Act 9 of 2012).

Victimisation surveys have the potential to deepen our understanding of crime in South Africa. Using the example of a survey conducted in Galeshewe, this article considers the challenges facing analysts in analysing victimisation surveys and suggests ways to increase the information that can be mined from local and national victimisation surveys.

This is the statement that the Community Law Centre (predecessor of the Dullah Omar Institute) made a the 47th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which was held from 12 to 26 May 2010. The submission addresses the issue of pre-trial detention in Africa.

This submission focuses on inmate labour in South Africa, with specific reference to the rights issues applicable and related to labour performed by sentenced inmates.