OP-ED: Prosecutions and the rule of law are under pressure during Covid-19 pandemic By NDPP, Shamila Batohi
The Covid-19 pandemic will have far-reaching implications for prosecution services worldwide. Many places are already experiencing significant changes in crime patterns and forms of criminality, and a reallocation of criminal justice resources to deal with lockdown-related public order issues.
In many places – especially in the developing world – the economic impact of Covid-19 will be severe. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has warned the international community of a recession “perhaps of record dimensions”. In South Africa, GDP growth, already anaemic before the onset of Covid-19, is expected to contract by some six percent in 2020.
Policies driven by fear – albeit legitimate at the time – and, enacted in a hurry, can become blunt and repressive instruments of state coercion, and ultimately exacerbate problems rather than promote recovery. The UN Human Rights Office has raised concerns about the excessive use of force employed by security forces in some countries to enforce Covid-19-related lockdown regulations.
Vast sums of money are being mobilised to resuscitate economies devastated by Covid-19. This creates opportunities for fraud and corruption in the procurement of state tenders, the distribution of public welfare funds, and the building of state-funded health-related infrastructures. Where the enforcement of Covid-19-related regulations are arbitrary, excessive or discriminatory, prosecutors should proceed with caution and ensure prosecutions are in the public interest and serve the interests of justice.
To contribute to their jurisdictions’ post-Covid-19 economic recovery, prosecutors must vigorously pursue serious cases of corruption, especially involving state officials. Where available, asset forfeiture and recovery laws must be used to ensure proceeds of crime are put to productive economic use and stolen assets returned to their rightful owners.
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