Recent Case: International criminal law

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Published date: 24 May 2019
• Author: Max du Plessis
• Date: 24 May 2019
• Citation: (2015) 28 SACJ 429
• Pages: 429-436

International criminal law

MAX DU PLESSIS

University of KwaZulu-Natal

1 Introduction

On 30 October 2014, the Constitutional Court handed down its

judgment in National Commissioner of Police v Southern African

Human Rights Litigation Centre 2015 (1) SA 315 (CC) (the SALC decision).

The case is now one of the leading Commonwealth decisions dealing

with universal jurisdiction. For South Africans, it is a landmark case

concerning responsibilities of the South African Police Service under

domestic and international law to investigate international crimes. The

case relates to allegations of widespread torture, amounting to crimes

against humanity, committed in Zimbabwe. The decision, by South

Africa’s highest court, reaf rms the obligations set out in South Africa’s

Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Cr iminal Court

Act 27 of 2002 (the ICC Act) regarding investigation and prosecution

of international crimes. The background to this matter is as follows.

In March 2008, a public interest litigation non-governmental

organisation – the Southern A frica Litigation Centre (SALC) – submitted

a dossier to the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit of the National

Prosecuting Authority detailing allegations of torture committed

against members of the political opposition in Zimbabwe in 2007.

After months of hand-wringing, the National Prosecuting Authority

ultimately took no action. Initially, they indicated that they could only

do so if the police investigated the allegations and laid charges. Then,

in June 2009, the National Prosecuting Authority – through the Acting

National Director of Public Prosecutions – informed the SALC that the

police would not investigate the allegations. As a result, SALC together

with another applicant – the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum – approached

the North Gauteng High Court to seek an order, inter alia, directing

the police to investigate as required under the ICC Act.

Recent cases 429

(2015) 28 SACJ 429

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