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United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has apologised to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, after she was irregularly served with court papers by a sheriff on Saturday.
The Italian human rights lawyer and author delivered the 23rd Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg on Saturday. Albanese says supporting Palestine’s self-determination is not an act of charity. This should be a binding obligation on all states.
In a statement, the minister says that the service of process had been carried out without her or the director-general’s knowledge, even though the latter is legally mandated to authorise such actions under Section 40(2) of the Superior Courts Act.
Court papers served on UN Special Rapporteur – Terrence Manase shares more
According to the law, any request from another country to serve civil court documents in South Africa must first be approved by the Minister and transmitted through the Director-General.
The request in question reportedly came from the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities and Christians for Israel in the USA. However, neither the minister nor the director-general had approved it, rendering the action invalid.
Minister Kubayi says that she had ordered the withdrawal of the irregular process and had issued an unconditional apology to Ms Albanese, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the United Nations.
She has also instructed the Acting Director-General to launch an internal investigation and implement consequences. Kubayi, who is currently in Vietnam attending a UN conference on cybercrime, confirmed that the department remains committed to upholding the rule of law and South Africa’s international obligations.
‘Thank you, South Africa!’
Earlier, Albanese praised South Africa for its role in advancing justice, following its decision to take Israel to the International Court of Justice over its operations in Gaza.
“This act has rekindled faith in international law, so thank you, South Africa! as a symbolic restoration, a quiet revolution in the history of international law. And in doing so, you prove again who you are, heirs of Nelson Mandela, in this conviction that justice must be lived, not merely spoken. And in a few days, I will have the privilege to present my last report to the United Nations Assembly called Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime. And I will do that from Cape Town.”
