Events

04 December 2019: Representatives from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda met in Cape Town to review a draft assessment tool developed by Africa Criminal Justice Reform. The purpose of the meeting was to elicit comments on the draft assessment tool to be used to engage with policy makers and government officials regarding the decriminalisation and declassification of petty laws.

20 November 2019: Hosted by the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI) and Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI). The Constitution and the NPA Act provide that the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) is appointed by the President, who may also, after consultation with the NDPP and Minster of Justice, appoint up to four Deputy National Directors of Public Prosecution (DNDPP). The President similarly appoints the Provincial Directors of Public Prosecutions (PDPP). This rather opaque process remained in place until Right2Know brought a court application in 2018 that the interviews for the position of NDPP should be conducted in public. Right2Know was successful and the interviews that resulted in the appointment of Adv. Shamila Batohi as NDPP set an important precedent In August 2019 the Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions (DNDPP) Silas Ramaite took early retirement. Given the workload and demands on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) it is essential that the vacancy be filled. Since the DNDPP and the NDPP are both appointed by the President, it follows that the precedent set in the appointment of Adv. Batohi must now also be followed in filling the vacancy left by the departure of Ramaite, or is it that simple? Why is it that the President that must appoint the Deputies and not the NDPP that appoints her Deputies? Please join us for a roundtable discussion on reviewing the appointment of the leadership of the NPA with the aim to develop proposals for law, practice and policy reform. Presentations by Lukas Muntingh (DOI), Jean Redpath (DOI) and Florencia Belvedere (PARI).

10 October 2019: ACJR together with other Civil Society Organizations launched the South African campaign on decriminalisation and declassification of petty by-laws.

23 July 2019: ACJR will be conducting a workshop with police and other stakeholders on democratic policing, in Blantyre.

9 July 2019: ACJR and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) are co-hosting a morning seminar on 9 July 2019 with three esteemed journalists to explore the links between state accountability and the media:

27-28 June 2019: ACJR will be conducting a workshop with police and other stakeholders on democratic policing, in Lusaka.

28 May 2019: The aim of this study was to investigate the socio-economic impact of remand detention on accused persons and their families and dependents. The evidence in this study suggests that the criminal procedural system metes out a disproportionate “punishment” in the form of infringement of the socio-economic rights of the families of detainees, regardless of guilt or innocence.

15 May 2019: ACJR will be conducting a workshop with police and other stakeholders on democratic policing, in Nairobi.

27-29 March 2019: The objectives of the workshop include the following: 1. To provide information and data on SDG 16.3 (access to justice) and the HLPF scheduled to take place in July 2019. 2. To develop strategies with a view to ensuring the visibility and active participation of civil society groups from Africa during the HLPF in July 2019. 3. To build capacity of civil society groups in Africa to understand and engage with the Voluntary National Review process. 4. To allow for cross-fertilisation of knowledge and ideas on access to justice between civil society groups in Africa and other regions, particularly from countries such as Indonesia and Mongolia.

27-28 March 2019: In partnership with Reformar, ACJR will be conducting workshop with police and other stakeholders on the nine dimensions for democratic policing in Maputo.

8 March 2019: The purpose of the workshop is to consult civil society on the independence and mandate of the Inspectorate.

3-4 October 2018: In Accra, Ghana, 15 civil society organisations and five National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) meet to develop sub-regional strategies to ensure the dissemination and implementation of the African Commission’s Principles on the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa, and to strengthen collaboration between the ACHPR, NHRIs and civil society organisations.

19-20 September 2018: The Network of African National Human Rights Institutions hosts this project inception training which will involved an Introduction to NANHRIs Project and the Principles; Validation of NANHRI’s Baseline Assessment Report: Enhancing the Role of NHRIs in the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences; Presentation of a Basic Scorecard to be utilized by NHRIs; and a Prison Visit.

10 August: The report, by ACJR and CESAB, launches at the Attorney-General's office in Maputo

25 July: The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (South Africa) hosts a round table discussion on prisoners on remand. The programme includes an Introduction (Fr Peter-John Pearson, Director CPLO) and a short movie clip on Conditions in Pollsmoor, followed by Prof Lukas Muntingh (Project Head, African Criminal Justice Reform), Ms Jacquline Hoorn (Regional Manager, NICRO Western Cape), and Fr Mathai Babychan (Chaplain, Prison Care and Support Network).

23 July: Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (OPCAT) and the Establishment of a National Preventative Mechanism (NPM)

6 Julho: Research for Mozambique em parceria com a Procuradoria-Geral da República realizam um encontro de reflexão sobre o impacto do Acórdão nr. 04/CC72013, 17 de Setembro, para aferir o grau da sua implementação pelo Ministério Público, pelo judicial, para Polícia da República de Moçambique pelo Serviço Nacional de Investigação Criminal.

28 June: Submission on a bill to amend legislation governing the Independent Policing Investigative Directorate (IPID) in South Africa. The submission includes a recommendation that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) be required to give reasons for their decisions not to prosecute cases referred to them by IPID.

25-28 June: Mozambicans working in the criminal justice sector to be trained by ACJR on methodologies of human rights research and reporting.

Criminal Justice Symposium on Sentencing and Bail in South Africa

Jun 22, 2018 from 12:30 PM to 04:00 PM — 6 Spin Street, Cape Town

22 June: Speakers: Justice Edwin Cameron, Venessa Padayachee, Thulani Ndlovu, Jean Redpath. The roundtable will kick off with a panel discussion among the speakers and be followed by questions and response from attendees.

20-21 June: Discussions will include developing national and regional litigation strategies and the implementation of the ACHPR Principles on the Decriminalisation of Petty Offences in Africa.

ACJR researchers present the results of a report on the State of Democratic Policing on behalf of the Civilian Secretariat for Policing.

ACJR has been invited to participate in the research reference group of South Africa's Civilian Secretariat on Police Services. The inaugural meeting in which the terms of reference will be finalised takes place in June.

Senior leadership of Malawi's groundbreaking paralegal organisation to enjoy training by ACJR on corporate governance, project management, monitoring and evaluation, fundraising and legal research.

Pursuant to research conducted by ACJR on the state of democratic policing commissioned by the Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service (CSPS) of South Africa, ACJR will be conducting skills transfer training with members of the CSPS.

Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa

May 08, 2018 to May 10, 2018 — Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ACJR will participate in a panel discussion on Criminalisation of Poverty: Vagrancy and Related Laws and their Impact on Children’s Access to Justice at the Continental Conference on Access to Justice in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Toward developing a road map for human rights treaty monitoring and reporting so as to strengthen South Africa’s system of human rights-based planning and accountability.

The Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service (CSPS) commissioned research on the state of democratic policing, pursuant to its oversight function.

ACJR's final Community Courts Evaluation report was completed on 17 August 2017. The report was tabled at the Provincial Development Committee meeting on the 28 November 2017 where it was resolved that the report be workshopped.

A draft report on data trends relating to the office of the WCPO was submitted on 25 January 2018. This is a consultative meeting with WCPO staff to discuss the findings of the report.