Events

What do magistrates think about prosecutors? ACJR’s work on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has included attempts at measuring perceptions of stakeholders, particularly those with direct experience of the prosecution.

Webinar: The NPA that we want, 17 October 2022

Oct 17, 2022 from 12:00 PM to 01:30 PM — Zoom Meeting

Under the current National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) four core values were articulated, being professionalism, independence, accountability and credibility. What do any of these values look like in practice and how will we know when we see it?

Webinar: COVID-19 restrictions and the impact on criminal justice and human rights, Zambia (12 October 2022)

Oct 12, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM — Zoom Meeting

ACJR, Ubuntu Justice Initiative, and the Zambian Law Development Commission (ZLDC) hereby cordially invite you to a webinar to discuss the findings emanating from the stakeholder engagement in Zambia and to deliberate on recommendations for handling similar future public health crises.

Webinar: COVID-19 restrictions and the impact on criminal justice and human rights, Kenya [4 October 2022]

Oct 04, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM — Zoom Meeting

ACJR and LRF hereby cordially invites you to a webinar to discuss the findings emanating from the stakeholder engagement in Kenya and to deliberate on recommendations for handling similar future public health crisis.

EVENT: Decriminalisation of Status and Activism Conference from [27-29 September 2022]

Sep 27, 2022 08:00 AM to Sep 29, 2022 04:00 PM — Stellenbosch

The annual convening of the Global Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status, of which Africa Criminal Justice Reform is a member will be held from 27 – 29 September 2022 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The conference will take on the theme: ‘Decriminalising Status and Activism’.

Webinar: COVID-19 restrictions and the impact on criminal justice and human rights - Malawi [30 August 2022]

Aug 30, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM — Zoom (Virtual meeting)

ACJR and CHREAA hereby cordially invites you to a webinar to discuss the findings emanating from the stakeholder engagement in Malawi and to deliberate on recommendations for handling similar future public health crisis.

[Webinar] Report Launch: COVID-19 restrictions and the impact on criminal justice and human rights - findings from five African countries [28 July 2022]

Jul 28, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM — Zoom (Virtual meeting)

Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa & Zambia

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) must prosecute corruption at all levels of government. While much of the focus has been on the capture of national government and national state-owned enterprises (SOE's), there has also been widespread corruption in municipalities.

In a series of five Issue Papers, Lukas Muntingh and Jean Redpath take a few steps back and ask whether we are indeed problematising the correct issues and, if so, are we problematising the issue in a manner that will restore trust and thus legitimacy in the NPA. From this position we can also examine our current and future expectations of the NPA.

Webinar on Local Government and Crime in light of the 2021 Local Government Elections [27 October 2021]

Oct 27, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM — Zoom Meeting

The Multilevel Government, Law and Development and Africa Criminal Justice Reform in collaboration with Hanns Seidel Foundation invites you to a webinar on Local Government and Crime in light of the 2021 Local Government Elections.

Criminal justice, human rights and COVID-19 - a comparative study of measures taken in five African countries: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia

Oct 13, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM — Zoom Meeting

Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) has produced a compendium of reports on the COVID-19 measures taken in five African countries, namely; Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. Please join ACJR for a 90-minute webinar to release the main findings.

Prosecution Priorities: Selecting for success or prosecuting for impact?

Sep 22, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM — Zoom Meeting

This webinar is based on a paper which seeks to understand why that might be the case and proposes a process and a logic for developing prosecution priorities which may change this result and improve the impact of prosecutions.

This webinar will explore the rationale, law and possibilities for delegation of the prosecution function to appropriate state entities.

Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) is hosting a virtual meeting on 4 August 2021 on a 'New research paper "The prosecution service and the provinces"' by Prof Lukas Muntingh

Julius Osega Memorial Lecture 2021

Jul 16, 2021 from 02:00 PM to 04:00 PM — Zoom

16 July 2021: The Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights, University of the Western Cape, and the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, cordially invite you to the Julius Osega Memorial Lecture 2021:

26 March 2021: This webinar reviews the imposition of a “hard” lockdown on 26 March 2020 by the South African government. It forms part of a series on the "unwanted anniversary" from the various units of the Dullah Omar Institute. This webinar focuses on the balancing of rights and the use of the criminal justice system in imposing restrictions in South Africa.

17 March 2021: This webinar will review the 2019/2020 Annual Report of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

3 March 2021: This webinar will review South Africa's Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services' Annual Report 2019/2021.

24 February 2021: This webinar will consider the 2019/2020 Annual Reports of the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) and South Africa's Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), released later than usual in 2020 in South Africa.

16 February 2021: This webinar will review the 2019/2020 Annual Report of South Africa's Correctional Services.

19 November 2020: This webinar will reflect on the state of play concerning prisoners’ right to vote in Africa and also cast a light on near-future elections, such as in Uganda and Zambia scheduled for 2021.

11 November 2020: This webinar will explore and reflect on the provisions of the draft SAPS Amendment Bill 2020 which impact upon the role of provincial and local government in policing and law enforcement in South Africa.

03 November 2020: ACJR has distilled some proposed key areas of reform which are likely to have multiplier-benefit while maintaining a balance between benefit and achievability; the authors will discuss and seek comment from participants on these recommendations for reform in this webinar.

28 October 2020: Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) and the Civilian Secretariat for Police Services are hosting a webinar on 28 October 2020 on democratic policing and what this means for South Africa.

Virtual Regional Conference on Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa

Sep 14, 2020 01:00 PM to Sep 16, 2020 04:00 PM — Virtual meeting | Zoom Webinar link: https://bit.ly/3aYHxxM

14 - 16 September: Virtual Regional Conference on Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa.

12 August 2020: Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) is hosting a discussion with the Western Cape Provincial Police Ombudsman, Johan Brand, regarding his office’s 2019/20 Annual Performance Report. The Western Cape is the only province in South Africa with a Police Ombudsman and thus presents a unique opportunity to explore this institution.

4 Agosto 2020: Em muitos países, a lei permite a prisão preventiva para garantir a comparência do acusado em julgamento. O Estudo sobre o Impacto Socioeconómico da Prisão Preventiva no Quénia, Zâmbia e Moçambique procurou confirmar e quantificar o impacto socioeconómico de tal detenção para os reclusos, suas famílias, e agregados familiares, nos principais centros urbanos dos três países.

23 July 2020: Webinar on Life imprisonment in South Africa and the world

15, 16, 21 and 22 July 2020: Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) will host a series of four one-hour webinars about the National Prosecuting Authority in July 2020 with a particular emphasis on the way forward. An independent prosecution authority, free from political interference, is fundamental to any democracy’s criminal justice system. South Africa created a new National Prosecuting Authority in 1998, which is the linchpin of accountability and for responding to crime in South Africa. No other entity has the original power to prosecute. The appointment and dismissal process of the National Director of Public Prosecution (NDPP) and other senior prosecutors is key to the independence and accountability of its functioning. Performance of the prosecuting authority should be anchored on the rule of law, accountability, public interest and trust. Looking to the future we need to acknowledge what went wrong with the NPA, but also take lessons and see how we can develop solutions relating to law, policy and practice reform. Ultimately, we are seeing a prosecution service that enjoys legitimacy because it is trusted by the public to act in the broad public interest. ACJR will launch a series of infographics at each webinar to stimulate the discussions. The interactive webinars will be facilitated by Lukas Muntingh, Jean Redpath and Kristen Petersen from ACJR.

2 June 2020: Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) will facilitate a webinar discussion on COVID-19 and petty offences and its impact on marginalized groups in West Africa. Governments across Africa have put measures as a response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, through the establishment of either states of emergencies or states of disasters. While these and other additional measures are a response to the crisis, the enforcement of lockdown regulations has also created new sets of petty offences which previously did not exist. The poor and marginalized are worst impacted as many have been forced to breach the rules and regulations for the purposes of survival. Members of the campaign on the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa will have a general discussion on the COVID-19 regulations in their respective countries, addressing the impact thereof on persons (including vulnerable groups such as women and girls) and highlighting their organizational efforts and recommendations to addressing an appropriate response to dealing with the pandemic. Panelists will include representatives from South Africa, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Guinea Conakry. Date: Thursday, 4th June 2020 Time: 11:00am (GMT) 12:00pm (WAT) 13:00pm (SAST) Register in advance for this meeting on Zoom: https://uwc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctfuChrD8iHt2fRX3H2m8jRCIlRed-00G2 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.