The criminal procedure Act 25 of 2004

Abstract

Abstract provided by author

The Criminal Procedure Act 25 of 2004 introduces a new criminal justice culture. Of interest to this paper is the philosophy of victim-centred litigation. The notion of natural rights and the social contract theory of the natural law school are used as justification for the existing State-centred idea of justice. This is the lens through which the conception of victims'participatory rights and service rights is currently reflected. The inimical perception is resting victims' rights on John Rawls principle of the greatest equal liberty and African indigenous philosophies of social equilibrium. The constitutional muster is the ultimate determinant of any considerations and therefore whether or not victims of crimes have a right to legal representation, whether or not victims of crime have input rights in bail proceedings and whether compensation as a legal remedy should be reviewed will all depend on the extent to which these rights can synergise with atoms within the constitutional culture.