| (1) |
If, upon considering the proceedings referred to in section 303 and any further information or evidence which may, by direction of the judge, be supplied or taken by the magistrate’s court in question, it appears to the judge that the proceedings are in accordance with justice, he shall endorse his certificate to that effect upon the record thereof, and the registrar concerned shall then return the record to the magistrate’s court in question. |
| (a) |
If, upon considering the said proceedings, it appears to the judge that the proceedings are not in accordance with justice or that doubt exists whether the proceedings are in accordance with justice, he shall obtain from the judicial officer who presided at the trial a statement setting forth his reasons for convicting the accused and for the sentence imposed, and shall thereupon lay the record of the proceedings and the said statement before the court of the provincial or local division having jurisdiction for consideration by that court as a court of appeal: Provided that where the judge concerned is of the opinion that the conviction or sentence imposed is clearly not in accordance with justice and that the person convicted may be prejudiced if the record of the proceedings is not forthwith placed before the provincial or local division having jurisdiction, the judge may lay the record of the proceedings before that court without obtaining the statement of the judicial officer who presided at the trial. |
[Section 304(2)(a) substituted by section 13 of Act No. 105 of 1982]
| (b) |
Such court may at any sitting thereof hear any evidence and for that purpose summon any person to appear to give evidence or to produce any document or other article. |
| (c) |
Such court, whether or not it has heard evidence, may, subject to the provisions of section 312— |
| (i) |
confirm, alter or quash the conviction, and in the event of the conviction being quashed where the accused was convicted on one of two or more alternative charges, convict the accused on the other alternative charge or on one or other of the alternative charges; |
| (ii) |
confirm, reduce, alter or set aside the sentence or any order of the magistrate’s court; |
| (iii) |
set aside or correct the proceedings of the magistrate’s court; |
| (iv) |
generally give such judgment or impose such sentence or make such order as the magistrate's court ought to have given, imposed or made on any matter which was before it at the trial of the case in question; or |
| (v) |
remit the case to the magistrate’s court with instructions to deal with any matter in such manner as the provincial or local division may think fit; and |
[Section 304(2)(c)(v) substituted by section 13 of Act No. 105 of 1982]
| (vi) |
make any such order in regard to the suspension of the execution of any sentence against the person convicted or the admission of such person to bail, or, generally, in regard to any matter or thing connected with such person or the proceedings in regard to such person as to the court seems likely to promote the ends of justice. |
| (3) |
If the court desires to have a question of law or of fact arising in any case argued, it may direct such question to be argued by the attorney-general and by such counsel as the court may appoint. |
| (4) |
If in any criminal case in which a magistrate’s court has imposed a sentence which is not subject to review in the ordinary course in terms of section 302 or in which a regional court has imposed any sentence, it is brought to the notice of the provincial or local division having jurisdiction or any judge thereof that the proceedings in which the sentence was imposed were not in accordance with justice, such court or judge shall have the same powers in respect of such proceedings as if the record thereof had been laid before such court or judge in terms of section 303 or this section. |
[Section 304(4) substituted by section 13 of Act No. 105 of 1982]
Statistics Act, 1999
