Centre for Child Law v Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development and Others (with the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Re-integration of Offenders as Amicus Curiae) [2009] ZACC 18 (15 July 2009)
The Constitutional Court of South Africa upheld a decision of the High Court declaring invalid provisions of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Amendment Act 38 (2007) (Amendment Act) that made minimum sentences for certain serious crimes applicable to 16 and 17 year old children. The provisions were found to negate the Constitution’s principles that children should only be detained as a last resort and for the shortest period of time.
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