| (a) |
A child justice court may, at any time before the conclusion of the case for the prosecution, make an order for diversion in respect of a child in accordance with the provisions of section 52(5). |
| (aA) |
A child justice court may only make an order for diversion in terms of paragraph (a) if the court is satisfied— |
| (i) |
that the factors referred to in section 52(1)(a) to (d) have been complied with; and |
| (ii) |
in the case of a child who is 12 years or older but under the age of 14 years, that the child will benefit from diversion. |
| (aB) |
If the child justice court is of the view that the child is unlikely to benefit from diversion, or if diversion is for any reason not appropriate, the court may refer the child to a probation officer to be dealt with as a child who lacks criminal capacity, in terms of section 9 of the Act. |
[Section 67(aA) and (aB) inserted by section 20 of the Child Justice Amendment Act, 2019 (Act No. 28 of 2019), Notice No. 641, GG43402, dated 4 June 2020 - effective 19 August 2022 per Proclamation Notice 2400, GG46752, dated 19 August 2022]
| (b) |
A child justice court that makes a diversion order must postpone those proceedings, pending the child's compliance with the diversion order and warn the child that any failure to comply with the diversion order may result in any acknowledgment of responsibility being recorded as an admission in the event of the trial being proceeded with as referred to in section 58(4)(b). |
| (2) |
The child justice court must, on receipt of a report from the probation officer that a child has successfully complied with the diversion order, and if the child justice court is satisfied that the child has complied, make an order to stop the proceedings. |
Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, 1996
