[wanabidii] BLOW TO SADC TRIBUNAL:DECISION DENIES CITIZEN’S ACCESS TO COURT

News Release: SADC Leaders Deal Fatal Blow to SADC Tribunal
20th August 2012
SADC LEADERS DEAL FATAL BLOW TO SADC TRIBUNAL:

SHOCK DECISION DENIES CITIZEN'S ACCESS TO COURT


Johannesburg, 20th August – Leaders of the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) took a momentous decision in Maputo over the weekend
– to shut the doors of the SADC Tribunal to the region's citizens,
preventing them from seeking justice and undermining the rule of law.

The shocking decision, which was taken at the annual summit of SADC
Heads of State and Government in Maputo, not only left the Tribunal in
limbo but also rendered it completely toothless by denying individual
access to the court.

"The decision to deny the region's inhabitants any access to the
Tribunal is astounding and entirely without any lawful basis," said
Nicole Fritz, Director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre
(SALC). "Civil society groups were worried that SADC leaders would
conspire to weaken the Tribunal but this is far worse than we had
feared. SADC has destroyed it."

The summit's final communique explains that SADC leaders have
"resolved that a new Protocol on the Tribunal should be negotiated and
its mandate confined to interpretation of the SADC Treaty and
Protocols relating to disputes between Member States."

The original Tribunal Protocol made it clear that individuals also had
access to the court – and all previous cases heard by the Tribunal had
been brought by individuals.

"The decision flies in the face of the recommendations of both the
SADC-instituted review of the Tribunal and SADC's own Ministers of
Justice and Attorneys General," said Fritz. "It is also completely at
odds with the best practice of other regional institutions and
undermines the protection of human rights and hopes for future
economic growth and development."

The SADC Tribunal has been defunct for the past two years after SADC
leaders demanded a review of its powers and functions, following a
series of cases in which it had ruled against the Zimbabwean
government.

Despite a campaign spearheaded by legal bodies, civil society
organisations and individuals such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond
Tutu, SADC's leaders decided not to the revive the Tribunal
immediately and to ensure that in future it will be little more than a
shell.

"Our leaders have shown their contempt for all of us in southern
Africa and for the rule of law," said Fritz. "Not only did they deny
the region's citizens access to the Tribunal but Member States almost
never bring legal cases against each other so the court will be a
complete waste of taxpayers' money."

For more information, please contact:

Nicole Fritz, SALC Director; Off +27 11 587 5065; Cell +27 82 600 1028

Richard Lee, OSISA Communications Manager; Cell +27 83 2314192;
Richardl@osisa.org

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