Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, 2004 (Act No. 33 of 2004)Preamble |
WHEREAS the Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy where fundamental human rights, such as the right to life and free political activity, are constitutionally enshrined;
AND WHEREAS terrorist and related activities, in whichever form, are intended to achieve political and other aims in a violent or otherwise unconstitutional manner, and thereby undermine democratic rights and values and the Constitution;
AND WHEREAS terrorist and related activities are an international problem, which can only be effectively addressed by means of international co-operation;
AND WHEREAS the Government of the Republic of South Africa has committed itself in international for a such as the United Nations, the African Union and the Non-Aligned Movement, to the prevention and combating of terrorist and related activities;
AND WHEREAS the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373/2001, which is binding on all Member States of the United Nations, as well as the Convention for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, adopted by the Organisation of African Unity, requires Member States to become Party to instruments, dealing with terrorist and related activities, as soon as possible;
AND WHEREAS the Republic of South Africa has already become Party to the following instruments of the United Nations:
| (a) | The Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963. The Republic became a Party thereto, by accession on 26 May 1972; |
| (b) | the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 30 May 1972; |
| (c) | [Paragraph(c) deleted by the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and related activities Amendment Act, 2022, by section 22(d) of Notice No. 1533, G47803, dated 29 December 2022]; |
| (d) | the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons including Diplomatic Agents, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 14 December 1973. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 23 September 2003; |
| (e) | the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 17 December 1979. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 23 September 2003; |
| (f) | the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, adopted at Montreal on 24 February 1988. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 21 September 1998; |
| (g) | the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection, signed at Montreal on 1 March 1991. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 1 December 1999; |
| (h) | the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 15 December 1997. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 1 May 2003; |
| (i) | the International Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1999. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 1 May 2003; |
| (j) | the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA Convention), adopted at Rome on 10 March 1988. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 8 July 2005; |
| (k) | the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms located on the Continental Shelf (SUA Protocol), adopted at Rome on 10 March 1988. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 8 July 2005; |
| (l) | the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 April 2005. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 9 May 2007; |
| (m) | the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, adopted in Vienna on 26 October 1979. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 17 September 2007; and |
| (n) | the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, adopted at New York on 12 June 1968. The Republic acceded thereto on 10 July 1991; |
[Preamble (j-n) inserted by section 22(b) of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and related activities Amendment Act, 2022 (Act No. 23 of 2022), Notice No. 1533, G47803, dated 29 December 2022 - effective 4 January 2023 per Proclamation Notice 110, GG47820, dated 4 January 2023]
AND WHEREAS the Republic of South Africa desires to become a Party to the following remaining instruments of the United Nations, not yet ratified or acceded to by the Republic:
The Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation, adopted at Beijing on 10 September 2010 and signed on behalf of the Republic on 26 September 2013; and;
the Protocol Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, adopted at Beijing on 10 September 2010, and signed on behalf of the Republic on 26 September 2013;
the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, adopted at Vienna on 26 October 1979, and signed on behalf of the Republic on 18 May 1981;
[Preamble substituted by the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and related activities Amendment Act, 2022, by section 22(c) of Notice No. 1533, G47803, dated 29 December 2022]
AND WHEREAS the following international instruments have been adopted, but the Republic has not signed and is not a Party thereto:
| (a) | The Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, adopted at Montreal on 4 April 2014; |
| (b) | the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, adopted at Vienna on 8 July 2005; |
| (c) | the Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, adopted at London on 14 October 2005; and |
| (d) | the Protocol to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, adopted at London on 14 October 2005; |
[Preamble (a-d) inserted by the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and related activities Amendment Act, 2022, by section 22(e) of Notice No. 1533, G47803, dated 29 December 2022]
AND WHEREAS the Republic of South Africa has become a Party—
| (a) | by ratification, on 7 November 2002, to the Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, adopted by the Organisation of African Unity at Algiers on 14 July 1999; and |
| (b) | by ratification, on 25 March 2007, to the Protocol to the Organisation of African Unity Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, adopted by the Assembly of the African Union at Addis Ababa on 8 July 2004 |
[Preamble substituted by the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and related activities Amendment Act, 2022, by section 22(f) of Notice No. 1533, G47803, dated 29 December 2022]
AND WHEREAS the United Nations Security Council from time to time passes resolutions under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, requiring Member States to combat terrorist and related activities, including taking effective measures to prevent and combat the financing of terrorist and related activities, and the freezing of funds, assets or economic resources of persons who commit terrorist and related activities;
AND WHEREAS our national laws do not meet all the international requirements relating to the prevention and combating of terrorist and related activities;
AND WHEREAS international law, and in particular international humanitarian law, including the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the said Charter recognizes acts committed in accordance with such international law during a struggle waged by peoples, including any action during an armed struggle, in the exercise or furtherance of their legitimate right to national liberation, self-determination and independence against colonialism, or occupation or aggression or domination by alien or foreign forces, as being excluded from terrorist activities;
AND REALISING the importance to enact appropriate domestic legislation necessary to implement the provisions of relevant international instruments dealing with terrorist and related activities, to ensure that the jurisdiction of the courts of the Republic of South Africa enables them to bring to trial the perpetrators of terrorist and related activities; and to co-operate with and provide support and assistance to other States and relevant international and regional organisations to that end;
AND MINDFUL that the Republic, has since 1994, become a legitimate member of the community of nations and is committed to bringing to justice persons who commit such terrorist and related activities; and to carrying out its obligations in terms of the international instruments dealing with terrorist and related activities,
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:—