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 h anded down its

judgment in National Commissioner of Police v Souther n African

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

The case is now one of the leading Commonwealth decisions deali ng

with universal jurisd iction. For South Africans, it is a la ndmark case

concerning responsibilities of the South A frican Police Service under

domestic and international law to investigate internationa l crimes. The

case relates to allegations of widespread torture, amou nting to crimes

against humanit y, 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. T he background to this matter is as follows.

In March 2008, a public interes t litigation non-governmental

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

a dossier to the Priority Crime s Litigation Unit of the National

Prosecuting Authority detai ling allegations of tortu re committed

against members of the politica l opposition in Zimbabwe in 2007.

After months of hand-wr inging, the National Prosecuting Authorit y

ultimately took no action. Initially, they indicated that they could on ly

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

in June 2009, the National Prosecuting Authorit y – through the Acting

National Director of Public Prosecutions – i nformed the SALC that t he

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

with another applicant – the Zimbabwe Exiles Foru m – approached

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

the police to investigate as required under the ICC Act.

Recent cases 429

(2015) 28 SACJ 429

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