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[5 November 2008] - In a ground-breaking judgment for the rights of children, the Pretoria High Court, South Africa, has declared certain aspects of the minimum sentences legislation to be unconstitutional. The law currently provides that young offenders who are 16 or 17 years old, must be sentenced according to the Minimum Sentences Act when they are convicted of very serious crimes. These sentences include life imprisonment or very long jail terms. These sentences are a required starting point and the courts may only depart from them if the offender shows that there are substantial and compelling reasons for the court to do so. The application to have the minimum sentences declared unconstitutional - where it affected children - was brought by the Centre of Child Law at the University of Pretoria Acting Judge Sulette Potterill found that the minimum sentencing regime in fact produced the opposite effect - that imprisonment becomes a first resort and for the longest period of time. She reiterated the approach of the Supreme Court of Appeal which ruled in 2006 that when sentencing child offenders, the courts must "start with a clean slate". The final resulting sentencing might still be a long term of imprisonment, but the process used to reach that result was different. Counsel for the Justice Minister, together with the Correctional Services Minister and the Legal Aid Board, earlier argued that the effect of the minimum sentencing law was not unconstitutional for 16 and 17 year-olds. It was also argued that whether a court started with a clean slate or a minimum sentence - the issue was merely academic. Potterill, however, rejected this and said the law had to adhere to the principles in the Constitution. Centre for Child Law attorney, Ronaldah Ngidi said the centre was pleased with the outcome, but this was just a first step. It is expected that the issue will go before the Concourt early next year. This article was originally published on page 3 of Pretoria News on November 05, 2008. Further information
pdf: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20081105055...