Government closing doors to justice – LSSA

The Law Society of SA (LSSA) has added its voice to those calling on the government to reconsider its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a statement on the LSSA site it says it is gravely disappointed at the unilateral decision by the government to initiate SA’s withdrawal process from the Rome Statute of the ICC by executive act. ‘This raises serious concerns about our government’s interpretation of its commitment to fighting impunity and providing accessible forums for victims of crimes against humanity and human rights abuses by those in power,’ say LSSA co-chairpersons Jan van Rensburg and Mvuzo Notyesi. They add: ‘As we have said previously, we are currently in the fortunate position of having a strong and independent judiciary and other institutions supporting democracy. We can turn to these to challenge abuses of power by the state. However, this may not always be the case in future. Our government appears hell-bent on closing and impeding access to regional, continental and international courts should a time come when South Africans can no longer rely on domestic remedies.’ Van Rensburg and Notyesi point out that the withdrawal from the ICC follows government’s agreement to changes brought about in 2014 to the SADC Protocol. As it now stands, the SADC Protocol deprives citizens in the SADC region – including South Africans – of the right to refer a dispute between citizens and their government to the SADC Tribunal if they fail to find relief in their own courts. Only states can refer disputes to the SADC Tribunal. ‘The LSSA is challenging this in the Gauteng High Court,’ say Van Rensburg and Notyesi.

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