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NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 284
DATE OF QUESTION: 05 AUGUST 2011
284.   Mr D V Bloem (COPE-FS) to ask the Minister of Justice and
Constitutional Development:
(1)Â Â Â Â Â Â Whether, with regard to the fact that 30% of South Africaâs
inmates are still awaiting trial, he will reform and/or review (a)
existing bail laws and (b)(i) remand and (ii) custody time limits that
continue to present overcrowding in the remand prison system; if not,
why not; if so, what are the reasons for the delay in rectifying the
situation;
(2)Â Â Â Â Â Â (a) what steps is his department taking to address the situation
and (b) what time limit is his department setting for corrective
action?Â
CW348E
REPLY:-
1) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the overcrowding of
Correctional Services facilities and, in particular, the large number
of persons detained in such facilities pending the finalisation of
their cases, remain issues of concern to the Justice, Crime Prevention
and Security Cluster, which I Chair.
(1)(a)Â The Cluster has considered the current bail legislation and is of
the view that the legislative framework is not the challenge. I am not
therefore currently considering a reform or review of the existing bail
legislation. However, the Cluster has embarked on improving the
management of bail issues through the promotion of policy guidelines to
SAPS and NPA officials regarding bail management and the training of
officials in this regard. This is done because it has been found that,
for example, in some instances, all the relevant information required,
to ensure that the presiding officer comes to a fair decision regarding
bail, is not placed before the court. It should be noted that the
granting of bail and the amount there anent, is in the sole discretion
of the presiding officer of the case in question. The presiding
officer should thus be provided with all relevant information to be
able to make an informed and appropriate decision in this regard.Â
In addition, the Cluster has been promoting the use of Section 62 and
63 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, Act No. 51 of 1977, in order to
improve the situation of detained persons awaiting the finalisation of
their criminal matters, through the revisit of bail or their release on
various conditions. In particular, the Cluster promoted the
development and implementation of the Protocol on the Procedure to be
followed in Applying Section 63A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977,
(the Bail Protocol). Section 63A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977,
provides for a procedure in terms of which the Court may, on
application by a Head of Prison and if not opposed by the Director of
Public Prosecutions concerned, order the release of certain accused on
warning in lieu of bail or order the amendment of the bail conditions
imposed by that court on the accused. Â The use of this section has
improved as a result of the implementation of the Protocol and hundreds
of persons detained have already benefited.Â
The Cluster has also promoted a Protocol for Applications for a
Reduction in Bail in conjunction with Legal Aid SA and the Law Society
for the Northern Provinces in order to appoint legal practitioners to
consult with awaiting trial detainees who have been granted bail but
who remain in detention, with a view to possible applications for a
reduction in bail in appropriate cases.
b) Regarding (i) remand and (ii) custody time limits, the recently
approved Correctional Matters Amendment Act, 2011, Act No 5 of 2011,
has specifically been promoted by the Cluster to deal with the
management and detention of remand detainees and will assist with
issues such as remand and custody time limits of remand detainees. Â In
particular, the aforesaid Act provides, amongst others, that the period
of incarceration of a remand detainee must not exceed two years from
the initial date of admission into the remand detention facility,
without such matter having been brought to the attention of the court
concerned. Â This will ensure that the cases of all persons detained for
long periods of time will be monitored and prioritised. Â It can be
noted that the monitoring of the overcrowding of correctional
facilities is already done on a monthly basis through the Justice,
Crime Prevention and Security Cluster and the Remand Detention Task
Team that was set up to deal with this in particular. A focus area for
the Task Team is to deal with the category of persons in detention for
long periods. Â All these cases are prioritised in terms of Case Flow
Management.  Heads of Correctional Facilities have been requested to
submit on, a monthly basis, lists containing the details of all remand
detainees who have been in detention for longer than 24 months to the
NPA and Legal Aid SA for attention and also for discussion at local and
provincial case flow management structures.
           It can also be noted that the Office of the Chief Justice has
instituted a Task Team, led by a Constitutional Court Judge, to deal
with case delays and backlogs. In this regard, an Access to Justice
Conference was also recently held with important resolutions from the
side of the Judiciary to improve Case Flow Management and reduce case
delays and backlogs.
(2)(a)&(b)Â Please see the response in (1) above.
                                            Â