Measuring Justice Quantitative Accountability and the National Prosecuting Authority in South Africa
Book contents
- Measuring Justice
- Cambridge Studies in Law and Society
- Measuring Justice
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Legislation – Statutes
- Introduction
- I From Apartheid Administrators to Lawyers of the People: A History of Accountability inside the South African Prosecution Authority (1948–2018)
- 2 Ethnographic Research in a Multi-Local Organisation: Access, Challenges and Methods
- 3 ‘Stats Talk’ and Alternative Expressions of Accountability: NPA Lower Court Prosecutors at Work
- 4 No Fear of Numbers: Reactivity and the Political Economy of NPA Performance Measurement
- 5 At the Top of the NPA
- 6 Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
- Concluding Remarks
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Law and Society
I - From Apartheid Administrators to Lawyers of the People: A History of Accountability inside the South African Prosecution Authority (1948–2018)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 June 2019
Book contents
- Measuring Justice
- Cambridge Studies in Law and Society
- Measuring Justice
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Legislation – Statutes
- Introduction
- I From Apartheid Administrators to Lawyers of the People: A History of Accountability inside the South African Prosecution Authority (1948–2018)
- 2 Ethnographic Research in a Multi-Local Organisation: Access, Challenges and Methods
- 3 ‘Stats Talk’ and Alternative Expressions of Accountability: NPA Lower Court Prosecutors at Work
- 4 No Fear of Numbers: Reactivity and the Political Economy of NPA Performance Measurement
- 5 At the Top of the NPA
- 6 Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
- Concluding Remarks
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Law and Society
Summary
Prosecutors are powerful actors in the South African criminal justice system as in many other jurisdictions worldwide (UN 1990; Schönteich 2001; 2002; Jehle, Wade and Elsner 2008; Luna and Wade 2012; Tonry 2012a, 2012b). In South Africa the National Prosecuting Authority Act 32 of 1998 and Section 179 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 equip them with extensive powers of discretion to initiate or discontinue criminal proceedings on behalf of the state, backed by the power of the state.
They decide who to charge with a criminal offence, what charges to file and when to dismiss or withdraw a case.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Measuring JusticeQuantitative Accountability and the National Prosecuting Authority in South Africa, pp. 21 - 49Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019