Priority Crimes Litigation Unit

The Priority Crimes Litigation Unit works with SAPS and the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) on cases that impact national security. The unit’s role is to lend legal support to investigations and to prosecute cases that arise from the investigation.

It is a critical communication tool for government on issues around national security. The operational mandate of the PCLU is to manage and direct investigations and prosecutions related to matters of national security. Its operational ambit includes crimes arising from the Rome Statute including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Other crimes the NDPP can determine fall within the PCLU sphere include:

• The Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance
• Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare proliferation),
• The National regulation of conventional military arms,
• Crimes related to Nuclear Energy,

The Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU) was created by Presidential proclamation on 23 March 2003 and is located in the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions.

The PCLU acts as a support for DPPs responsible for investigations and prosecution of crimes related to national security. Further to that the unit:

• Contributes to the strategic management of the NPA through involvement in National Operations Management Meetings (NOMM), EXCO and the NPS.
• Investigates and prosecutes Truth and Reconciliation Committee cases.
• Advises NDPP and NPS ahead of parliamentary and ministerial briefings.
• Responsible for investigating and prosecuting terror and arms proliferation financing cases.
• Shepherds investigation of crimes committed outside the country and manages reporting to the International Criminal Court (ICC)