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South Africa congressional leader Zuma calls for review of high court's authority

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma on Wednesday called on the Judicial Service Commission to conduct a review of the country's Constitutional Court, saying the court has too much power and had abused its authority. Zuma also criticized the country's judiciary and prosecutors for pursuing corruption charges against him, in what he said was an attempt to undermine his leadership of the ANC. Earlier this week, the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) decided to drop the charges against Zuma, but opponents have criticized the move . A spokesman for the Congress of the People party said that if Zuma is able to weaken the Constitutional Court, it would not be able restrain his use of power should he become president in upcoming elections. The NPA's decision to drop the charges against Zuma came at the end of a long legal battle. In January, the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa reinstated the charges against Zuma, which had been invalidated in September. In July, the Constitutional Court rejected a motion by Zuma to exclude evidence from the corruption trial. Zuma had argued that evidence seized in 2005 raids by the Directorate of Special Investigations should be thrown out because the raids violated his rights to privacy and a fair trial. The court upheld the warrants used in the raids, confirming a November 2007 decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal. Zuma was first charged with corruption in 2005, but those charges were later dismissed because prosecutors failed to follow proper procedures.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 09, 2009 (boomark / email).