Porritt and Another v National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others (978/2013)
Porritt and Another v National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others (978/2013) [2014] ZASCA 168; [2015] 1 All SA 169 (SCA); 2015 (1) SACR 533 (SCA) (21 October 2014)
The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the removal of prosecutors on the basis of apprehension of bias does not entitle the accused to an acquittal under section 106(4) of the Criminal Procedure Act. The test for removal of a prosecutor for bias is not the same as that for the recusal of a judicial officer. Prosecutors are inherently partisan in adversarial proceedings, and their prior involvement or funding by SARS does not automatically compromise the fairness of the trial. The correct test is whether substantive unfairness arises on the facts, not a general standard of independence. The cou…
Source excerpt
- Title To Prosecute
- Fair Trial Rights
- Apprehension Of Bias
- Removal Of Prosecutor
- Section 106 Criminal Procedure Act
- Role Of Prosecutor