By Umamah Bakharia

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola has received four important reports dealing with child pornography.

In a media briefing, the minister says that these four critical reports, which propose recommendations with far-reaching effects for the law and statute books, will have a significant impact on the lives of South Africans.

Radio Islam, speaks to Minister Lamola’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri on the impact these cases will have on the country’s criminal justice system.

The first report deals with sexual offences and children abuse. 

“They [the law reform commission] have identified a lack of counselling,” says Phiri. He adds that the commission has made a recommendation that the department for social development, the department of justice and the NPA develop a protocol for prosecutors to reach out to after completing a sexual offence case.

The second recommendation is that there needs to be better coordination between the department of digital technology communication and the department of justice in enforcing the laws effectively.

The second report is on the investigation into legal fees that the poor are not able to access.

“There is some missing middle [where] some [cannot] afford the legal fees that are required sometimes and this creates a barrier to access to justice,” says Phiri. To which the commission recommended that fees possibly have a tariff rate.

The third part of the report that was handed over, addresses the issue of forced marriages in South Africa. 

The report found that this is an acceptable practice in some regions of the Eastern Cape, however, it adds that over time the practice has been misused in cases where a woman is kidnapped and raped. The commission then asked the question of what legal regime is best suited to deal with this kind of case.

The fourth report questions the anomalies in the law.

Normally a person would not be able to claim the debt which is due to them after three years that they have not taken any action to do so.

The commission found a gap where debtors or creditors have been able to extend their period of anomalies.

The Law Reform Commission identifies the gap between the ideals of the law and the practical side of the case. The Commission does research on the ethical aspect of the laws that are passed by the state and then identify the gap in the law. The research is then used to advise the government.