The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has ordered the immediate withdrawal of court papers that were irregularly served on United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, on Friday.
The papers were delivered by a sheriff acting on an unauthorised instruction issued by an official in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, without the knowledge or approval of either the Minister or the Director-General.
“The Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, notes with regret the unauthorised letter issued by an official in the department that led to a sheriff approaching the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, to serve her with court papers yesterday,” departmental spokesperson Terrence Manase said.
Manase said the department had since established that proper legal procedures were not followed as prescribed by Section 40(2) of the Superior Courts Act, which requires the approval of the Director-General and the Minister before such requests are processed.
“Neither the Director-General nor the Minister gave effect to the above request for service of the process, which was a request purportedly made by the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, Christians for Israel, USA,” he said.
He confirmed that Kubayi had issued an instruction for the withdrawal of the irregular service of process and extended apologies to all parties concerned.
“The Minister has instructed that this irregular service of process be withdrawn and extends an unconditional apology to Albanese, to the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the United Nations,” Manase said.
According to the department, internal disciplinary steps have been initiated. “The Minister has instructed the Acting Director-General to institute an internal consequence management process, and she will fully deal with this matter upon her return from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, where she is currently attending the UN Conference and Signing Ceremony on the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime,” said Manase.
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