Criminal Procedure Handbook

Date24 May 2019
Published date24 May 2019
REVIEW • RESENSIE
Criminal Procedure Handbook
by JJ Joubert (ed) et al:
Juta Law, Juta & Co, Ltd. pp 440. Price R210.00 (incl. vat)
Now in its fifth edition the
Criminal Procedure Handbook
aims to provide a
concise introduction and guide to students of criminal procedure. There is a
strong emphasis in the book on the interaction between adjectival law and
the principles enshrined in the Constitution to reflect the shift in focus in the
South African legal system in recent years. Chapter 1 'provide[s] a set of
spectacles' through which to view the rest of the book. It remarks on the
history and nature of criminal procedure generally and highlights the
importance of the presumption of innocence and the privilege against self-
incrimination. It also briefly discusses a number of the more pertinent specific
fundamental rights. Relevant provisions of the Constitution are quoted at the
commencement of each chapter and there is further, albeit necessarily brief,
discussion of the relevant fundamental rights in later chapters insofar as they
affect particular areas of criminal procedure.
Unlike most other texts on the subject, the
Handbook
is not a section-by-
section account of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
The authors advocate that, generally speaking, 'criminal procedure should ...
be seen as a system ... a step-by-step process which moves along according
to set legal rules'. Their book thus follows the general progression of the
criminal process rather than moving from one particular section to the next.
Part one comprises a discussion of certain general principles of criminal
procedure while part two is divided according to four 'phases' of the criminal
process ie pre-trial criminal procedure, the trial, the sentence and post-
verdict and post-sentence remedies. This format is likely to be reflected in the
course outlines of most South African criminal procedure courses and
therefore familiar to the student. The level of analysis is well pitched and the
language of the book is approachable. The authors avoid getting entangled
in the complex issues of criminal procedure. This is ideally suited to the
criminal procedure initiate who is unlikely to be in a position to grapple with
a more searching analysis. It is also desirable for the rusty practitioner
371
(2002) 15 SACJ 371
© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd

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