EAST LONDON, 09 NOVEMBER 1999
Being present at this occasion has a particular significance for me. You know how accountants often scoff at those who do not know the difference between a credit and a debit. Well I am now going to admit something to you that you may not divulge to any one outside this room.
When I first came to this office, it would be generous to say that my knowledge of the law and legal systems was rudimentary at best. Like the debit and credit I mentioned earlier, I did not know the difference between a public prosecutor and a public def ender .... Well, the National Director clarified that little point of detail for me very soon after I made my first exploratory visit to his office!!!!
I am honoured and delighted to be present at this auspicious occasion. Since its inception, the National Prosecuting Authority has made a determined effort to unify the prosecution service in this country. The establishment of an Annual Conference of Sen ior Public Prosecutors is one of the results of this effort.
As we know, this is the second such annual conference. This gathering of Senior Public Prosecutors affords your profession the opportunity to identify and discuss issues, which affect the prosecuting authority and the way it operates within the criminal j ustice system.
Gatherings such as these - for any profession - also provide an opportunity for critical self-examination and for identifying a common platform for an improved way forward. I am informed that some of the resolutions taken at the conference last year have already been implemented with success. May I express the hope that this conference takes you all forward into the new millennium with renewed vigour and a single-minded determination to make justice a reality for all of those who come into contact with ou r courts.
Last year you resolved to improve the professional status of prosecutors as lawyers. You acknowledged, very importantly, that this improved status is earned; it does not just happen because you want it to do so. You also acknowledged that professional st atus is not simply a matter of improved salaries.
You acknowledged that professionalism is about standards and excellence and last year you set about establishing uniform performance criteria by which prosecutors will be evaluated and judged. Within a short space of time the performance of prosecutors ha s improved quite dramatically.
Furthermore, the public image and perception of prosecutors as professionals is improving. I believe that this conference will seek to find ways of consolidating the gains that have been made in the past year, by setting a way forward that takes your profe ssion to even greater levels of excellence and professional achievement. I therefore wish to congratulate you on a job well done and to recognise the determination you have shown to give concrete effect to the resolutions, which you undertook last year.
It is in this context that I would like to place some challenges before the Senior Public Prosecutors gathered here today. It is common knowledge that more than 90% of all criminal prosecutions are conducted in the lower courts. These are the courts you ma nage as senior Public Prosecutors. These courts are the face of the criminal justice system. This is where the majority of our people experience and interact with justice. Furthermore, and possibly more importantly, this is where the success or failure of our fight against crime will be determined. This is the arena in which we will all be judged; and judged by that harshest of all critics - the taxpaying citizen of South Africa.
The public's image of and confidence in the criminal justice system is chiefly determined by the performance of the lower courts. So if prosecutors talk of improved performance standards, that improvement has to be reflected there. The improvement in perfo rmance must address the concerns and reservations expressed by the communities that we serve. These improved regimens of performance must also translate into convictions against perpetrators of violent crimes such as rape, murder and armed robbery; that is the only way we will be able to account appropriately to the communities that we serve.
Increased conviction rates for violent and other crimes will surely boost the confidence that the ordinary citizen has in the capacity of the justice system to deal effectively with criminals. And you, as prosecutors, will be at the very forefront of this drive to give substance to the notion that justice can and will prevail. You are in a very real sense the Lawyers of the People. Your success or failure in the courtroom will, to a large extent, determine and form peoples' perceptions about justice and the way that the system impacts on their lives.
There is no doubt in my mind that an increased conviction rate reduces the incidence of crime. For criminals it is a simple "business decision": If the risk of getting caught is high, they will either ply their trade elsewhere, or simply decide that the risks outweigh the benefits under the adverse and discouraging conditions.
The President of the Constitutional Court, Judge Chaskalson, made a very important observation on crime and its prevention in our society. He said:
"The greatest deterrent to crime is the likelihood that offenders will be apprehended, convicted and punished. It is that which is presently lacking in our criminal justice system, and it is at this level and through addressing the cause of crime that the state must seek to combat lawlessness."
Prosecutors are important role players in the fight against crime and lawlessness and they must ensure that the rule of law prevails. This is the litmus test by which we will be judged and must judge ourselves.
As we have said, prosecutors are the face of the justice system in the lower courts. It is then vital that prosecutors and Senior Public Prosecutors, in particular, conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner. This professional conduct must b e expressed in the way that prosecutors behave among themselves as colleagues and the way they interact with the public, our court users. Respect for one another, the public and the institution of Justice will support your endeavours to create a unified prosecuting authority if which we can all be proud.
It is at this point that I must stress the importance of an effective and even-handed disciplinary procedure. Having lofty ideals about professional standards and espousing a commitment to improved performance is meaningless without a disciplinary proced ure that fails to censure those who flaunt the code of conduct which binds you all as members of a profession.
Standards of performance without enforcement are no more than the hollow gong of a bell. It is up to you to maintain the standards that you have set. There must be a consequence to a breach of the code and censure must match the severity of that breach. The public, the justice system, the prosecutors - we all have a stake in the establishment of a profession that is not tainted by unethical behaviour or by racial and gender discrimination.
This brings me to another aspect that needs to be discussed at this conference: Transformation. A large portion of last year's conference was devoted to the way in which the prosecuting service would gain legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of the publ ic.
We all know that for the prosecution to gain legitimacy and earn the support and trust of the communities it seeks to serve, the profession itself must transform from within and unconditionally embrace and endorse the values espoused by the new democratic order; those enshrined in our beloved Constitution.
In this context, actions will definitely speak louder than words and it is your actions and behaviour that will convince the public of your determination to achieve real and meaningful transformation.
This conference needs to ask some profound questions around this issue. How far have we progressed along the transformation continuum? Is the prosecuting authority fully representative? Are we as Senior Public Prosecutors serious about leading this proces s? Are we adequately addressing issues of race and gender in our courts? What are the opinions of the people, at the grassroots level, about our efforts to transform the prosecution service?
These are just a few of the questions that must come under the microscope at this conference. As managers of prosecutors in the lower courts, these issues will have to be addressed with conviction and the knowledge that failure to do so will undermine al l the gains you have made and nullify any attempts to find a way forward that is relevant to the profession and meaningful to the South African community.
We have now created positions of Chief Prosecutors - yet another success emanating from last year's conference. The Chief Prosecutors, together with their Senior Public Prosecutors must stand at the forefront of transformation by ensuring that their jurisd ictions are representative.
One of the standards by which the Chief Prosecutors will be judged is the effort they make to effect real change and the pace at which their jurisdictions experience transformation.
We must all identify, train and support people to ensure that transformation takes place as speedily as possible and without impacting negatively on the core functions of the prosecuting authority.
I am convinced that our collective efforts to transform the prosecution will result in real benefits to the communities that we serve.
Justice is our cause. And this cause will only become meaningful to the communities that surround our courts when they derive the tangible benefits intended by the legislative framework that we have put in place to protect their rights and enhance the q uality of their lives.
Again I want to congratulate you for the successes that you have achieved over the past year and wish you the very best for the future.