Title: Prosecuting apartheid-era crimes? : a South African dialogue on justice /
Authors: Giannini, Tyler; Harvard Law School.
Publisher: International Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School : Distributed by Harvard University Press,
Year: 2009
Subjects: Criminal justice, Administration of South Africa; Restorative justice South Africa.; Prosecution South Africa.; Crimes against humanity South Africa.; Post-apartheid era South Africa.
Abstract: In December 2005, South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) promulgated a controversial policy on the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes, sparking renewed debate about such prosecutions and their role in the transition to democracy since 1994. The book presents a diverse collection of perspectives on prosecutions in South Africa, including a foreword by playwright and actor John Kani. Other reflections from former Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) commissioners, survivors of apartheid, civil society members, and government officials outline the serious questions facing South Africa as it deals with prosecutions today. The book traces the history of the prosecutions in South Africa including their relationship to the TRC and a recent legal challenge that asserts the NPA policy is an unconstitutional re-run of the TRC amnesty process. Throughout, the book highlights the important themes related to any post-conflict prosecution scheme including rule-of-law concerns, questions of evenhandedness and moral relativism, competing priorities and resource allocation, the limits of a court-centered approach to justice, and the potential transformative power of prosecutions.
Contents: Prologue: "You should use the past as a reference, lest you forget"/ John Kani --- Chapter 1. South Africa's Ongoing Pursuit of Justice. Reflection: "Anyone who says applying for amnesty was easy or a soft option is wrong. Many who applied were as broken as the victims of their acts" / Ilan Lax --- Chapter 2. The TRC and Its Unfinished Business. Reflection: "I know they talk about reconciliation at a national level. But with me, as a person, as someone who's gone through the pain, I feel like I also need revenge" / Nombuyiselo Mhlauli -- Reflection: "A process for bringing together victims and offenders is very important"/ Paddy Kearney --- Chapter 3. Prosecutorial Powers in South Africa. Reflection: "In South Africa, we have to be careful of a slide into impunity"/ Yasmin Sooka -- Reflection: "A vigorous prosecutions policy, where we had nothing for seven or eight years, would seem a bit strange"/ Robin Palmer --^