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Attorneys Act, 1979 (Act No. 53 of 1979)

Chapter I : Practitioners: Qualifications, Admission and Removal from Roll

7. Absence of candidate attorney

 

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), a candidate attorney may, with the consent of his principal, absent himself from office for a period which does not, or for periods which in the aggregate do not, exceed thirty working days in any one year of the articles of clerkship or contract of service.

[Section 7(1) amended by section 7(a) of Act No. 115 of 1993]

 

(2)
(a) A court may on the application of an candidate attorney in any case—
(i) where his principal refuses to grant him leave of absence from office;
(ii) where the period of absence from office exceeds, or the periods of absence from office in the aggregate exceed, thirty working days in any one year of the articles of clerkship or contract of service,

[Section 7(2)(a)(ii) amended by section 7(b) of Act No. 115 of 1993]

grant an order authorising leave of absence from office for the period in question, if the court is satisfied that the principal and the society concerned received due notice of the application and that sufficient cause for the absence from office exists or existed, as the case may be.

(b) An order referred to in paragraph (a) may be granted before, during or after the period of absence.

 

(3) If any period of absence from office exceeds, or the periods of absence from office in the aggregate exceed, thirty working days in any one year of articles of clerkship or contract of service, the period in excess of thirty working days shall be added to the period for which the candidate attorney is bound to serve under articles or contract of service.

[Section 7(3) amended by section 7(c) of Act No. 115 of 1993]

 

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6, one half of any period of absence from the office of his principal by a candidate attorney as a result of training undergone by him in the South African Defence Force in terms of section 3 of the Defence Act, 1957 (Act No. 44 of 1957), shall, subject to a maximum period of three months, be deemed to have been served under such articles of clerkship or contract of service.

[Section 7(4) amended by section 7(c) of Act No. 115 of 1993]

 

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6, any period of absence not exceeding six months of a candidate attorney from the office of his principal for the purpose of attending a training course approved by the society concerned, shall, if that candidate attorney has completed that course to the satisfaction of that society, be deemed to have been served under articles of clerkship or contract of service: Provided that in the case of a candidate attorney referred to in sections 2(1A) and 2A the period of attending a training course shall not be deemed to be a period that that candidate attorney has served under articles of clerkship or contract of service.

[Section 7(5) amended by section 7(c) of Act No. 115 of 1993]

 

(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6, any period of absence not exceeding 12 months of a candidate attorney from the office of his principal for the purposes of service, in terms of a contract with terms and conditions similar to those of his articles of clerkship, under the direct supervision of another attorney who is entitled to engage a candidate attorney in terms of section 3, shall, provided the secretary of the society where the articles concerned have been registered has approved such service in advance in writing, be deemed to have been served by the candidate attorney concerned under articles of clerkship with his principal.

 

[Section 7 amended by section 5 of Act No. 87 of 1989]