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Magistrates' Courts Act, 1944 (Act No. 32 of 1944)

Part III : Criminal Matters

Chapter XII : Criminal Jurisdiction

92. Limits of jurisdiction in the matter of punishments

 

(1) Save as otherwise in this Act or in any other law specially provided, the court, whenever it may punish a person for an offence
(a) by imprisonment, may impose a sentence of imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years, where the court is not the court of a regional division, or not exceeding 15 years, where the court is the court of a regional division;
(b) by fine, may impose a fine not exceeding the amount25 determined by the Minister from time to time by notice in the Gazette for the respective courts referred to in paragraph (a);
(c) [Section 92(1)(c) deleted by section 2 of Abolition of Corporal Punishment Act, 1997 (Act No. 33 of 1997)].
(d) by correctional supervision, may impose correctional supervision for a period as contemplated in section 276A(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977).

 

(2)
(a) The court shall have jurisdiction to impose any punishment prescribed in respect of an offence under an ordinance of a province or the territory which relates to vehicles and the regulation of traffic on public roads, notwithstanding that such punishment exceeds the jurisdiction referred to in subsection (1).
(b) Where a person is convicted of culpable homicide arising out of the driving of a vehicle as defined in any applicable ordinance referred to in paragraph (a), the court shall have jurisdiction to impose any punishment which the court may impose under that paragraph in respect of the offence of driving a vehicle recklessly on a public road.

 

                                                                                                                             

25 R60 000 where the court is not the court of a regional division, and R300 000 where the court is the court of a regional division - GN R1411 in GG 19435 of 30 October 1998.