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Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act No. 90 of 1993)

16. Regulations

 

(1) The Minister may, after the Commission has made a recommendation, make regulations regarding the following matters in relation to judicial officers in the lower courts:
(a)
(i) The requirements for appointment and the appointment, promotion, transfer, discharge and disciplinary steps;
(ii) the recognition of appropriate qualifications and experience for the purposes of the determination of salary;
(iii) the procedure and manner of and criteria for evaluation and the conditions or requirements for the purposes of promotion;
(iv) transfer and resettlement costs;
(b) the duties, powers, conduct, discipline, hours of attendance, leave of absence, including leave gratuity, and pension, including contributions to a pension fund, and any other condition of service, including the occupation of official quarters;
(c) the creation of posts on the fixed establishment, and the number, grading, regrading, designation, redesignation or conversion of posts on the fixed establishment of any magistrate's office;
(d) the training of judicial officers in the various lower courts, including financial assistance for such training;
(e) a code of conduct to be complied with by judicial officers;
(f) the provision of official transport;
(g) the conditions on which and the circumstances under which remuneration for overtime duty, and travel, subsistence, climatic, local and other allowances, may be paid;
(h) the circumstances under which a medical examination shall be required for the purposes of any provision of this Act or any other law, and the form of medical reports and certificates;
(i) the legal liability of any judicial officer in respect of any act done in terms of this Act or any other law and the legal liability emanating from the use of official transport;
(j) the circumstances under which and the conditions and manner in which a judicial officer may be found guilty of misconduct, or to be suffering from continued ill-health, or of incapacity to carry out his or her duties of office efficiently;

[Section 16(1)(j) substituted by section 8(g) of Act No. 35 of 1996]

(k) the procedure for dealing with complaints and grievances of judicial officers, and the manner in which and time when or period wherein and person to whom documents in connection with requests and communications of such judicial officers shall be submitted;
(kA) the procedure to be followed by a committee referred to in section 6B and, in general, any matter, which is not in conflict with this Act, which is reasonably necessary for the functioning of the committee;

[Section 16(1)(kA) inserted by section 7 of Act No. 35 of 1996]

(l) the recognition of any professional society;
(m) the membership or conditions of membership of a particular medical aid scheme or medical aid society and the manner in and the conditions on which membership fees and other moneys which are payable or owing by or in respect of judicial officers or their dependants, to a medical aid scheme or medical aid society, may be recovered from the salaries of such judicial officers and paid to such medical aid scheme or medical aid society;
(n) the contributions to and the rights, privileges and obligations of judicial officers or their dependants with regard to such a medical aid scheme or medical aid society;
(nA) the requirements for, and the registration of, not more than one person and the deregistration of that person as a partner of a magistrate, as envisaged in section 15A, with the Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development;

[Section 16(1)(nA) inserted by section 6 of Act No. 28 of 2003]

(o) in general, any matter, which is not in conflict with this Act, which is reasonably necessary for the regulation of the conditions of service of judicial officers or any matter in connection with the rights, powers, functions and duties of a judicial officer.

 

(2)
(a) A regulation made under this section shall be in force unless and until Parliament during the session in which the list referred to in section 17 of the Interpretation Act, 1957 ( Act 33 of 1957 ), which relates to that regulation, has been laid upon the Table in Parliament, by resolution disapproves the regulation, in which event the regulation shall lapse with effect from a date to be specified in the resolution.
(b) The lapsing of a regulation in terms of this subsection shall not affect the validity of anything done under the regulation prior to the date mentioned in the resolution.
(c) The provisions of this subsection shall not affect the power of the Minister to make a new regulation regarding the matter dealt with by a regulation that has lapsed in terms of paragraph (a) .

 

(3) Any regulation under this section which results in State expenditure, shall be made with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.

[Section 16(3) inserted by section 19 of Act No. 104 of 1996]

 

(4) No regulation made under subsection (1), shall contain any provision which affects the service benefits of any magistrate as they existed prior to the date of commencement of this section to his or her detriment.

[Section 13(4) inserted by section 8(g) of Act No. 35 of 1996]

 

(5) Different regulations may be made under subsection (1) in respect of magistrates and other judicial officers.

 

(6) A regulation made under subsection (1) (j) , and which regulates the attendance of persons at misconduct proceedings contemplated in such a regulation, may provide that any person who contravenes a provision thereof or fails to comply therewith shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.

[Section 13(6) inserted by section 8 of Act No. 66 of 1998]

 

[Date of commencement of section 16: 11 March 1994]