The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has apologised to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, after she was irregularly served with court papers by a sheriff on Saturday.

The Italian human rights lawyer and author delivered the 23rd Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg on Saturday. Albanese says supporting Palestine’s self-determination is not an act of charity. This should be a binding obligation on all states.

In a statement, the minister says that the service of process had been carried out without her or the director-general’s knowledge, even though the latter is legally mandated to authorise such actions under Section 40(2) of the Superior Courts Act.

According to the law, any request from another country to serve civil court documents in South Africa must first be approved by the Minister and transmitted through the Director-General.

The request in question reportedly came from the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities and Christians for Israel in the USA. However, neither the minister nor the director-general had approved it, rendering the action invalid.

Minister Kubayi says that she had ordered the withdrawal of the irregular process and had issued an unconditional apology to Ms Albanese, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the United Nations.

She has also instructed the Acting Director-General to launch an internal investigation and implement consequences. Kubayi, who is currently in Vietnam attending a UN conference on cybercrime, confirmed that the department remains committed to upholding the rule of law and South Africa’s international obligations.

Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture