The constitutionality of section 49 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Act (Act 51 of 1977) in relation to article 6 of the Namibian constitution, which protects the right to life

Abstract

None provided. The following is taken from the author's preface:

The discourse is therefore, organized under three principal theories, the use of deadly force versus the provisions of the constitution, the comparative analysis to the other jurisdiction and international Human Rights Instruments. The last chapter deals with possible recommendations for possible amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act. The text contains references to the important cases and extensive quotations from the judgment majority from South Africa, which make this text more relevant to those who do not have the time to read those too many and long Cases

The Namibian constitution has been hailed throughout the world as the most democratic exercise in the history of Africa, and it is has been praised as one of the best in the world. It is called the mother of all laws in Namibia or Supreme law of the land. However, the Namibian constitution is also having its own problems. For example, the drafters of the constitution could not abolish or repeal all the laws that were enforce during colonial time. In other words South African statute law and common law continued to apply in terms of Art 140 and 66 respectively. Criminal procedure Act, Act 51 of 1977 is one example of these statutory laws. In this dissertation the writer examined the relationship between the provisions of section 49 (2) in the criminal procedure Act on the one hand provide (allow) the use of force by a police officer or a member of the public in the arrest of a person who has committed or is suspected of having committed an offence, and who resists and/or flees when an attempt is made to arrest him. I. e. the section gives the arrestor the right to assault or to kill him and such a killing shall be justified as homicide. Whereas the constitution on the other hand protect the right to life and it explicitly out law the death penalty or capital punishment of convicted criminals in terms of Art. 6. The reality is that the entire criminal justice process is part of the administration of the state and the specific reference is that Section 49 (2) of the CPA need to be compatible with the Bill of Right of the Namibian constitution of the 1990. A comparative precedent is valuable in such an analysis, the writer therefore, have chosen countries with liberal democracies such as the SA and US and others international instrument jurisprudence to provide some guidance