JURIST - Paper Chase: South Africa high court hears Zuma appeal of Mauritius documents ruling

[JURIST] The South African Supreme Court of Appeal [official website] heard arguments Friday in the corruption case against former South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma [advocacy website; party profile]. The South African Prosecuting Authority (NPA) [official website] alleges that Zuma received bribes from arms manufacturer Thint, a subsidiary of the France-based Thales Group [corporate website]. Lawyers for Zuma argued Friday that the Durban High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction when it allowed South Africa to request documents from the Mauritius government [JURIST report] relating to alleged meetings between Zuma and Thint.

In April, the Durban High Court approved a letter of request [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] seeking documents from Mauritius, but Zuma appealed that ruling. The court said that there is no reason why the documents could not be obtained immediately and kept under lock and key pending the outcome of the appeal. Zuma argued that there was no reason to request the documents [SABC report] until after the appeal is finalized. South Africa's Mail & Guardian has more.

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