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South Africa Case Law

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Criminal Law [2025] ZAGPJHC 410

S v Ephraim and Others (SS70/2021)

S v Ephraim and Others (SS70/2021) [2025] ZAGPJHC 410 (14 April 2025)

Court
South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
Case number
SS70/2021
Judge
D Dosio

The court finds that crimes against humanity, including apartheid-era murders, are not subject to statutory limitation under South African law. Section 232 of the Constitution incorporates customary international law, which recognises such crimes as imprescriptible and prosecutable regardless of when committed. The principle of legality is not violated, as these crimes were recognised under international law at the time of commission. The ICC Act does not preclude prosecution for acts committed before its enactment, as section 232 provides an independent legal basis. Alleged political interfe…

Source excerpt

  • Customary International Law
  • Crime Against Humanity
  • Apartheid
  • Statute Of Limitations
  • Principle Of Legality
  • Section 232 Constitution
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Criminal Law [2019] ZAGPJHC 159

Rodrigues v National Director of Public Prosecutions of South Africa and Others (76755/2018)

Rodrigues v National Director of Public Prosecutions of South Africa and Others (76755/2018) [2019] ZAGPJHC 159; [2019] 3 All SA 962 (GJ); 2019 (2) SACR 251 (GJ) (3 June 2019)

Court
South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
Case number
76755/2018
Judges
NJ Kollapen, DSS Moshidi, I Opperman

The court found that while there was an unreasonable delay in prosecuting the applicant, primarily due to political interference between 2003 and 2017, this delay did not result in irreparable trial prejudice. The applicant's claims of faded memory and loss of witnesses were not sufficient to taint the fairness of the trial, as the State bears the burden of proof and the applicant has access to the full docket and legal representation. Age and infirmity are not bars to prosecution and are considered at sentencing. The interests of justice, the need for accountability for serious crimes, and t…

Source excerpt

  • Permanent Stay Of Prosecution
  • Section 35 Right To Fair Trial
  • Political Interference
  • Trial Delay
  • Crime Against Humanity
  • Truth And Reconciliation Commission
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Criminal Law [2019] ZAGPPHC 236

Rodrigues v National Director of Public Prosecutions of South Africa and Others (76755/2018)

Rodrigues v National Director of Public Prosecutions of South Africa and Others (76755/2018) [2019] ZAGPPHC 236 (3 June 2019)

Court
North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
Case number
76755/2018
Judges
NJ Kollapen, DSS Moshidi, I Opperman

The court found that while there was an unreasonable delay in prosecuting the applicant, primarily due to political interference between 2003 and 2017, this delay did not result in trial prejudice sufficient to warrant a permanent stay of prosecution. The applicant's claims of memory loss and unavailable witnesses were not shown to irreparably taint the fairness of the trial, especially as the burden of proof remains with the State. The interests of justice, the seriousness of the offence, and the need for accountability in the context of South Africa's history outweighed the applicant's clai…

Source excerpt

  • Permanent Stay Of Prosecution
  • Unreasonable Delay
  • Section 35 Right To Fair Trial
  • Political Interference
  • Crime Against Humanity
  • Amnesty And Pardon
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About this LexChat collection

South Africa decisions are organised by court, judge, legal area and indexed issue so a practitioner can move from a proposition to a citable authority with the surrounding context intact.

Source links and collection timestamps are retained alongside the indexed records.