Billed as a breakthrough for accountability, the NPA’s new ethics office may reinforce impunity rather than confront it

Author:

L Muntingh
 

Summary: 

Established in 2023, the NPA’s Office for Ethics and Accountability (OEA) is a long-overdue internal mechanism aimed at improving prosecutorial ethics and accountability. Mandated by the 1998 NPA Act, but only operationalised through late-2023 regulations, the OEA fills a critical gap amid declining public trust in the NPA following state capture and persistent dysfunction. The report describes and analyses the regulations establishing the OEA.  The structure and regulatory framework of the OEA raise serious concerns. It points out that the OEA’s dual functions—promoting ethics and investigating complaints—are compromised by a lack of structural independence. It is located within the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), and its head reports to the NDPP, raising questions about impartiality, particularly in cases involving senior officials. The opaque, internal development of the regulations, without public consultation or parliamentary scrutiny, undermines transparency and may breach legal standards. While the regulations allow for a broad range of complaints, they are vague on crucial procedural safeguards: there are no timelines for investigations, no appeal rights, and no provisions to address systemic misconduct. The outdated 2010 Code of Conduct and weak legal grounding of the existing Code of Ethics further limit impact. Outsourcing complaint handling and low public visibility compound concerns. Without reform, the OEA risks becoming a symbolic gesture rather than a driver of accountability.

Link to policy brief