Asset seizures: ConCourt rules

2003-04-03 13:23

Johannesburg - A court may temporarily seize and prohibit the sale of property thought to be the proceeds of organised crime without giving the owner a hearing, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday.

The court upheld the national director of public prosecutions' (NDPP) appeal that section 38 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act was constitutional.

The act is intended to prevent criminals from benefiting from their crimes by confiscating the proceeds of crime.

The first step is for the NDPP to apply to the High Court for a preservation order in respect of property he suspects is the proceeds of organised crime.

The owner of the property does not have to be given notice of that application.

If the court grants the order, the property is temporarily seized and may not be sold.

A train of procedures follows, some designed to protect the innocent owner of property, culminating in an application by the NDPP to have the property confiscated.

The Johannesburg High Court had earlier ruled that section 38 was unconstitutional, because the owner was not entitled to a hearing.

Judge Laurie Ackermann, giving judgment on behalf of the Constitutional Court, ruled that the section was constitutional because the owner sis have the right to a hearing in the later proceedings.

The public interest in suppressing organised crime was a justified limitation on the rights of the property owner.

- SAPA