Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996)ProclamationsSpecial Remission of Sentence for certain Categories of Sentenced Offenders, Correctional Supervision and ParoleesProclamation Notice 133 of 2023 |
Proclamation Notice 133
11 August 2023
GG 49016
Department of Correctional Services
Proclamation No. 133 of 2023
by the
President of the Republic of South Africa
In terms of Section 84(2)(j) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, I hereby approve the following periods of special remission to the indicated categories of offenders, offenders placed under correctional supervision, parolees and day parolees who are or would have been incarcerated or serving sentences within the system of community correction on 2023.
| 1. | Probationers, Parolees and Sentenced Offenders are granted 12 months Special Remission of sentence, with the exception of the following crimes; |
| • | Sexual Offences; |
| • | Murder; |
| • | Attempted Murder; |
| • | Crimes against the safety of the State including sedition, high treason, sabotage and terrorism; |
| • | Offenders declared as dangerous by the court in terms of Section 286A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 51 of 1997; |
| • | Lifers; |
| • | Violations under the Domestic Violence Act, 1998 (Act No 116 of 1998); and |
| • | Child Abuse; |
| • | Gender Based Violence; |
| • | Armed robbery/robbery with aggravating circumstances; |
| • | Tempering, destroying or damaging of essential infrastructure; |
| • | Any attempt, inciting, soliciting or conspiracy to commit any of the above crimes; |
| • | Any other crime directly linked to any of the above-mentioned crimes (i.e. house breaking with the intent to steal and rape). |
| 2. | Offenders who are classified to be of low risk will receive additional 12 months special remission of sentence. |
| 3. | Notably, all offenders, with the exception of categories mentioned in point 1 above, who were sentenced for violent crimes and have served close to the minimum required time for parole consideration will only be granted 12 months special remission of sentence; |
| 4. | No person may benefit more than once from the 2023 Special Remission of sentence. |
| 6. | A person who benefits from this special remission of sentence will be released within twelve (12) weeks from the date of announcement, in order to deal with the necessary administration in a responsible manner. |
| 7. | The placement process for offenders under correctional supervision, parolees and sentenced offenders will be done in various phases, starting with the special category (Women, Children, elderly, youth and inmates with disabilities), and shall commence from the date of the proclamation, within 12 weeks from the date of announcement. |
| 8. | Offenders who qualify for the special remission will provide a set of fingerprint and DNA samples which will be compared on the SAPS database as a prerequisite before placement. |
Given under my Hand and the Seal of the Republic of South Africa at: Pretoria this 10 day of August 2023.
President
Minister of the Cabinet