People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime in South Africa – Postponement & Adjudicator Announcement
People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime in South Africa
Constitutional Hill, Johannesburg
Arms Hearings: 3-7 February 2018
Press Release – Postponement & Adjudicator Announcement
The People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime in South Africa’s Organising Committee has taken the decision to postpone the first hearings on the arms trade to 3-7 February 2018. The postponement will allow more time to process the wealth of evidence relating to the complex nature of the cases. As such the new deadline to submit evidence has been extended to 10 November 2017.
In preparation for the Tribunal we are assembling a high-calibre panel of adjudicators to hear the cases. We are excited to announce that Justice Zak Yacoob and Ms Yasmin Sooka have been confirmed as part of that panel.
Ms Yasmin Sooka is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa. She is also a leading human rights lawyer, activist and international expert in the field of Transitional Justice, gender and international war crimes. With regards to her role at the Tribunal, she brings her valuable experience of acting as a Commissioner during South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Justice Zak Yacoob served as a Constitutional Court judge from 1998 to 2013. He has been a lifelong human rights lawyer, rising to prominence during the apartheid years where he defended numerous activists and victims of apartheid in South African courts. Crucial to the upcoming Tribunal is Justice Yacoob’s role in leading an international panel of judges in the 2015 International People’s Tribunal on the 1965 mass killings in Indonesia.
The People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime in South Africa will address the conspicuous failure of South African institutions to investigate the growing body of evidence relating to corruption and economic crime. This civil-society led intervention is the first in the world explicitly aimed at tackling these issues in light of state failure to do so.
For further information on the Tribunal or to make a submission, visit https://corruptiontribunal.org.za/. For queries, contact Open Secrets on 021 447 2701 or researcher@opensecrets.org.za.
