Victims' participatory rights in parole hearings: A South African perspective
| Author | Francois Louw |
| Position | University of South Africa |
| Pages | 42-59 |
42
British Journal of Community Justice
©2021 Manchester Metropolitan University
ISSN 1475-0279
Vol. 17(1) 42 –59
VICTIMS’ PARTICIPATORY RIGHTS IN PAROLE
HEARINGS: A SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
Dr Francois Louw, University of South Africa, Contact details: louwfc@unisa.ac.za
Abstract
In South Africa, significant progress has been made in legislative and policy efforts to
advance victim participation in the parole process. Victims now have a legal right to make
representations at a Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (Parole Board) hearing in
certain matters relating to parole placement decisions. This conceptual paper aims to
discuss the circumstances in which crime victims may exercise their rights to information
and participation in parole hearings. Any reference to a victim in South Africa includes a
complainant or a relative of a deceased victim. In promoting a victim-centred approach to
criminal justice, provision has been made in both section 75(4) of the Correctional Services
Act 111 of 1998 and section 299A of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 for the
involvement of victims in Parole Board hearings. In 2005, the South African Department of
Correctional Services issued specific directives to facilitate and promote the involvement
of complainants in Parole Board hearings. These directives were developed in support of
the Victim Empowerment Programme of Government, which is based upon the concept of
restorative justice. The stance of the Department of Correctional Services is that all parole
considerations should include victim participation; however, this paper argues that
practical challenges remain for both the Department of Correctional Services and the
victims of crime. It proposes directions for future research as there is little to no research
that has been conducted on the effects of the parole process on victims.
Keywords
Complainant; parole hearing; participatory rights; restorative justice; South Africa; victim
Victims’ Participatory Rights In Parole Hearings: A South African Perspective
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Introduction
In 2015, former Justice and Correctional Services Minister, Advocate Michael Masutha,
requested a review of South Africa's parole system after discovering that Correctional
Supervision and Parole Boards (hereinafter referred to as ‘Parole Boards’) were lacking
professional and independent decisions when granting parole to offenders. The Minister
highlighted the importance of protecting the rights of victims and stated that ‘we cannot
consider the parole application of any offender which does not show that the victims were
consulted’ (Mitchley, 2015). The Minister shifted the lens towards victim participation
when he recommended in his budget vote1 speech on 20 May 2015 for the parole system
to be reviewed to, among others, strengthen victim and community participation and
empowerment with a more proactive stance to ensure their involvement in parole
hearings (South African Government, 2015).
Currently, the issue of parole review and the efficacy of South Africa's parole system is still
being debated. In March 2020, Justice and Correctional Services Minister, Ronald Lamola,
conceded that the parole process is flawed and needs reform, particularly when victims
were not part of the processes to release the offender on parole. A task team was set up
by the Minister to review some of the parole laws and policies (Meyer, 2020b). The onus is
on the task team to make the parole system more victim-centred and to amend the
minimum detention period for aggressive sexual offences (Portfolio Committee on Justice
and Correctional Services, 2020).
This paper commences with a brief definition of the term ‘victim’ in South Africa. It then
presents an overview of victim empowerment and its implementation in the criminal
justice system. This is followed by a brief description of parole and the parole process in
South Africa. This paper argues that practical challenges and obstacles remain for both the
Department of Correctional Services and the victims of crime before proposing future
directions for research and policy. In South Africa, a victim’s right to participate in a Parole
Board hearing and be heard regarding parole for offenders is enshrined in legislation. Yet
relatively little is known about the implementation of victim participation in parole
hearings. This paper elaborates on the rights of victims at the parole phase and addresses
the lack of research and knowledge regarding victim participation in parole hearings in
South Africa.
Definition of ‘victim’ in South Africa
According to the 1985 Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and
Abuse of Power, victims of crime are ‘persons who, individually or collectively, have
suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or
substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in
violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those laws
proscribing criminal abuse of power.’ The Declaration also includes in the definition of
‘victim’, ‘where appropriate, the immediate family or dependants of the direct victim and
1 The budget vote speech outlines the plans, highlights and priorities of a national government
department.
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