Equality before the law and access to justice in criminal proceedings under a bill of rights.
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Date
1994
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Abstract
This work seeks to critically examine the right to legal
representation in the South African criminal justice system under
a future constitutional dispensation.
Extensive attention has been given to how the right to legal
representation has been interpreted under the common law.
Reference has been made to the united States 6f America's
approach to the due process and equal protection clauses in
shaping the substantive and procedural content of the right to
counsel in criminal proceedings. The importance of legal
representation is examined during the pre-trial, trial and
sentencing stages of criminal proceedings.
A brief comparative examination has been made of the right to
legal representation in other foreign jurisdictions, and how the
courts have dealt with indigent accused persons facing criminal
charges. Proposals from different quarters in South Africa have
been discussed in the hope that these proposals may still find
a place in the country's final constitution. Finally, the
practical implications of a qualified right to free legal
representation as provided by the Interim South African
Constitution is discussed. Suggestions are also made concerning
the approach to be adopted by the courts in the face of judicial
precedents which would be in conflict with a new value system
under a Bill of Rights after 27 April 1994.
Description
Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.
Keywords
Criminal justice, Administration of--South Africa., Theses--Law.