Swart v Minister of Correctional Services and Others (2011 (2) SACR 217 (WCC)) [2011] ZAWCHC 36; 20343/10 (31 March 2011)

Swart v Minister of Correctional Services and Others (2011 (2) SACR 217 (WCC)) [2011] ZAWCHC 36; 20343/10 (31 March 2011)

The court held that the relevant statutory provisions under the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 require that the 'date of release' for the purposes of Section 276A(3)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Act is the date on which the sentence expires, not the date of parole eligibility. The Price dictum, which interpreted 'date of release' as the earlier of parole eligibility or sentence expiry, was based on the repealed Correctional Services Act 8 of 1959 and does not apply under the current Act. The applicant had not served the required time, as his sentence expiry date was more than five years in the future at the time of application. Therefore, he was not eligible for consideration...

Citation
[2011] ZAWCHC 36
Parties
Applicant: Dirk Hermanus Swart; Respondent: Minister of Correctional Services; Respondent: National Commissioner of Correctional Services; Respondent: Regional Commissioner of Correctional Services: Western Cape; Respondent: Head: CDC Corrections: Department of Correctional Services
Court
Western Cape High Court, Cape Town
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
31 March 2011
Case Number
20343/10
Procedural Posture
Urgent Application / Judgment
Outcome
Application dismissed with costs.
Judges
Henney, AJ
Legal Topics
Correctional Supervision, Sentence Conversion, Parole Eligibility, Interpretation of Statutes
Criminal Law Correctional Supervision Sentence Conversion Parole Eligibility Interpretation of Statutes

Case Brief

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Parties

Dirk Hermanus Swart

Applicant

Minister of Correctional Services

Respondent

National Commissioner of Correctional Services

Respondent

Regional Commissioner of Correctional Services: Western Cape

Respondent

Head: CDC Corrections: Department of Correctional Services

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Urgent Application / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicant qualified to have his sentence of imprisonment converted into correctional supervision under Section 276A(3)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 read with the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998.
  2. 2 Whether the 'date of release' for conversion of sentence should be the date when an inmate first becomes eligible for parole.
  3. 3 Whether the refusal to consider the applicant for conversion of sentence based on the policy directive was in accordance with the law as set out in Price v Minister of Correctional Services.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the relevant statutory provisions under the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 require that the 'date of release' for the purposes of Section 276A(3)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Act is the date on which the sentence expires, not the date of parole eligibility. The Price dictum, which interpreted 'date of release' as the earlier of parole eligibility or sentence expiry, was based on the repealed Correctional Services Act 8 of 1959 and does not apply under the current Act. The applicant had not served the required time, as his sentence expiry date was more than five years in the future at the time of application. Therefore, he was not eligible for consideration...

Court Disposition

Application dismissed with costs.

Orders

  • The application is dismissed with costs.