Questions
Answer both of the following questions:
1. In a number of recent cases where decisions of the National Prosecuting Authority to decline prosecution or to discontinue prosecution were taken on judicial review, the prosecuting authority has argued that decisions whether or not to prosecute are not subject to judicial review at all, on any basis. Write a short essay (no shorter than 600 words and no longer than 800 words, footnotes excluded) in which you discuss this argument critically. In your essay you must, on the basis of recent judicial authority and academic opinion, state whether you agree with this argument and fully motivate your position, through reasoning and reliance on authority.
2. Read the decision in M v Minister of Home Affairs (unreported, [2014] ZAGPPHC 649, 22 August 2014; available at http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2014/649.html). Write a short essay (no shorter than 1000 words and no longer than 1500 words, footnotes excluded) in which you critically discuss Keightley AJ’s holdings in that case with respect to the question whether the failure of the Refugee Status Determination Officer (‘RSDO’) to give all the reasons for his decision to the applicant, M, and the failure of the Standing Committee on Refugee Affairs after confirming the RSDO’s decision on administrative review to give reasons for its decision at all or to inform M of her right to request reasons, renders the refusal of M’s application for refugee status procedurally unfair and invalid. In your essay you must both adequately describe Keightley AJ’s holdings in this respect, as well as the reasoning supporting those holdings; and consider those holdings critically. Also here you must motivate any points of view expressed, through reasoning and reliance on authority.
Instructions
– Your essay must be typed and submitted in printed form, in Arial 12 pt font, 1½ spacing, left aligned, justified text.
– You must answer both questions in the same document, in the sequence that they are asked.
– You must keep strictly to the word count limits prescribed with respect to each question and provide an indication at the end of each question of the number of words of your answer.
– In your answers to each of the questions you must cite and rely on both case law and academic work (books or articles). Relying on these sources means that you must read them and substantiate your arguments and statements in your essay in relation to them and relate your arguments to them, in addition to citing sources as authority for statements of law. You must conduct your own research to find relevant sources to rely on.
– Your essay in answer to each of the questions must be in the form of a short academic article and must in particular have in-text footnote references to sources relied on in the style set out in the style sheet in this study guide.
– You must include in your assignment one bibliography in which you list together all the sources referred to in the assignment as a whole.
