René Koraan – The Conversation

South African court rules that racism is a criminal offence. Shutterstock

March 29, 2018

Jail time for South African woman using racist slur sets new precedent

Penelope Andrews, University of Cape Town; Chantelle Feldhaus, North-West University, and René Koraan, North-West University

Past cases indicate that verbal crimen injuria is not that serious. But a landmark sentence in South Africa has changed that.

South Africa’s celebrated state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, known as ‘The Bull Dog’, is to lead the country’s first private prosecutions unit. Reuters/Marco Longari/Pool

February 3, 2017

Explainer: how South Africa’s first private prosecutions unit will work

Chantelle Feldhaus, North-West University and René Koraan, North-West University

Even though private prosecutions have been allowed in South African for almost 100 years, they are fairly rare and there has been only one known successful private prosecution.

South African Oscar Pistorius at his trial for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Reuters/Mike Hutchings

December 3, 2015

Oscar Pistorius verdict raises the bar for South African judiciary

Chantelle Feldhaus, North-West University and René Koraan, North-West University

The Supreme Court of Appeal found that Oscar Pistorius must have foreseen, when shooting, that whoever was behind the toilet door might die, but reconciled himself with that possibility.

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