Restorative Justice Approach Launched by South Africa Department of Correctional Services

Bishop Desmond Tutu was the main speaker of the day, applying all his usual charm and insight to deliver a memorable speech. He described government as being courageous to be promoting a restorative justice approach at a time when many South Africans are angry about crime and may be wanting to go in a more retributive direction. He couldn’t resist a little quip about being surprised and delighted that this enlightened move has been spearheaded by the Department dealing with prisons – not generally a department known for its progressiveness. 

The Minister for Justice, Penuel Maduna, also gave a very good speech. He began with a reference to the recent tragic spat of babies being raped in South Africa. He said that the public’s response in these cases is to ask for tougher measures. Maduna stressed that we already have tough enough bail laws and sentencing laws. He emphasized that we need look further back to how it is possible that these crimes have occurred in our communities. What is need, he continued, is a moral regeneration, and he linked this idea firmly to restorative justice, which he characterized as giving communities more of a stake in the criminal justice system. 

The Minister of Correctional Services also gave a very up-beat speech, which was reprinted on 9 December 2001 as a half-page advertisement in the Sunday Times – a weekly newspaper with a wide national readership. The speech can be found on the Correctional Services web-site (www.dcs.gov.za).

Two other developments of note concerning restorative justice in South Africa also took place in November.

Conference on Restorative Justice and Community Facilitation

In November a conference entitled “Restorative Justice and Community Facilitation” was hosted by the African Christian Democratic Party and funded by the Konrad Adenhauer Stiftung. The conference was not party political with speakers and attendees representing a range of political backgrounds, different faiths and secular organizations. Speakers included Steve Swart, Jabu Sishuba, David Kgosimore, Jody Kollapen, Ann Skelton, and Shimmy Kotu. This conference combined an overview of restorative justice theory with practical examples from working projects. It brought together a range of academicians, government employees, politicians, and practitioners.

Law Commission Proposals on Child Justice Now A Government Bill

Another final piece of news is that on 21 November 2001 the South African Cabinet approved the Child Justice Bill for introduction into parliament in the first session of next year. This once again shows the South African government’s commitment to restorative justice policy as the Bill is based firmly on restorative justice principles. The Bill must still be debated in parliament, and restorative justice advocates in South Africa are preparing to participate in public debates to ensure that the restorative justice aspects underpinning the Bill are retained.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Ann Skelton

January 2001

The new initiatives announced by the government come after much research, debate, and pilot tests. Listed below are articles, papers, and research reports available full-text online.  =Abstract   =Full-text South African Law Commission. Sentencing (A New Sentencing Framework). Discussion Paper 91. Project 82.            Juvenile justice. Discussion Paper 179, Project 106. Pretoria, South Africa: South African Law Commission.    South African Law Commission. 1999. "Community Dispute Resolution Structures." Discussion Paper 87. Project 94.    Resources from the University of Cape Town Institute of Criminology:  Inter-Ministerial Committee on Young People at Risk.  “Proposed Principles for a New Juvenile Justice System in South Africa.”  Documents of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Young People at Risk, from the “Young People at Risk South Africa” website.       Pinnock, Don. 1995.  What Kind of Justice?  University of Cape Town. Institute of Criminology.       Schärf, Wilfred. 1997.  “Specialist Courts and Community Courts.”  University of Cape Town, Institute of Criminology. Position Paper, Commissioned by the Planning Unit, Ministry of Justice, South Africa.     Skelton, A., R. Shapiro and D. Pinnock (1994). Juvenile Justice for South Africa: Proposals for Policy and Legislative Change. Cape Town, South Africa: University of Cape Town Institute of Criminology, 60p.          Van Eden, Karen.  “Tradition Ways and Juvenile Justice:  Synergy for a New System in South Africa.”  Documents of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Young People at Risk.                  Journal Articles Nina, Daniel. “Beyond Mediation: How South Africa’s ‘Other Mediation’ is Challenging Conventional Models.” Track Two. 7(1).              Zehr, Howard. 1997. “”Restorative Justice: When Justice and Healing Go Together.” Track Two, 6(3&4).