Madam Deputy Chairperson, yes, the Department of Justice is considering introducing some stringent legislation to deal with hate crimes, hate speech and discrimination. The department is in the process of finalising a draft policy framework with a view to developing measures to combat hate crimes, hate speech and other forms of unfair discrimination.
In this regard the department has initiated research into the development of legislation that will introduce the concept of hate crime into our criminal law. Also the concept of hate speech will be refined in a way that reflects South Africa's commitment to high standards of free expression, while at the same time combating hate speech, making it a crime, and possibly making other forms of unfair discrimination a crime.
Regarding the issue of bail, the bail procedures under sections 60(1) and 60(11) of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 are structured in such a way as to impose different legal tests in relation to the question of whether an accused should be released on bail, pending his or her trial and depending on the seriousness of the offence with which he or she is charged. The seriousness of the charge is determined by the Schedule to the Act under which it falls. As matters stand, the Schedule to the Criminal Procedure Act under which a charge falls for the purpose of determining the relevant bail tests is not affected by the fact that the crime in question is a hate crime.
The draft policy framework intends to address this issue by proposing appropriate amendments to the Schedules to the Criminal Procedure Act in order to ensure that all hate crimes, irrespective of their nature, fall within Schedule 6, if not Schedule 5.
The department will be submitting the draft policy framework to the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster in order to elicit comments and inputs on the draft policy proposals, whereafter I will proceed to commence with a public participation process. Thank you, Chairperson.