Prosecuting sexual abuse of children : enhancement of victims rights vs protection of constitutional fair trial rights

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:In 2002 the South African Law Commission published a report in which amendmentsto the existing rules of criminal procedure and evidence were proposed. A number ofthese recommendations have since been included in a Bill that was tabled beforeParliament in 2003. The proposed amendments largely reflect values which underliethe Victims' Rights movement. The aim of this thesis is to consider the possibleinfluence of these amendments on the constitutionally guaranteed fair trial rights ofthe accused. The study focuses on those amendments that play a role in theprosecution of alleged sexual offences against children, and shows that although therecognition of victims' rights is important, it should not be done at the expense of afair trial. Dangers inherent to the proposed amendments are therefore highlighted. Therights of the accused are used to test the desirability or not of the proposedamendments. Foreign authority is used to support the argument made in the thesis.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University