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Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, 2004 (Act No. 33 of 2004)

Chapter 2 : Offences and Penalties

Part 3 Other offences

12. Duty to report presence of person suspected of intending to commit or having committed offence and failure to so report

[Section 12 heading substituted by the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and  related activities Amendment Act, 2022, by section 11(a) of Notice No. 1533, G47803, dated 29 December 2022]

 

(1) Any person who—
(a) has reason to suspect that any other person intends to commit or has committed an offence referred to in this Chapter; or
(b) is aware of the presence at any place of any other person who is so suspected of intending to commit or having committed such an offence,

must report as soon as reasonably possible such suspicion or presence, as the case may be, or cause such suspicion or presence to be reported to any police official.

 

(2) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) (a) or (b), is guilty of an offence.

 

(3) Upon receipt of a report referred to in subsection (1), the police official involved, must take down the report in the manner directed by the National Commissioner, and forthwith provide the person who made the report with an acknowledgement of receipt of such report.

 

(4)

(a) The National Commissioner must, at the commencement of this Act, publish the direction contemplated in subsection (3) in the Gazette.
(b) Any direction issued under subsection (3) must be tabled in Parliament.

 

(5) A person required to make a report in terms of subsection (1) concerning a suspicion that any other person intends to commit or has committed an offence referred to in section 4, may continue with and carry out any transaction to which such a suspicion relates, unless directed in terms of subsection (6) not to proceed with such a transaction.

 

(6) If a police official authorised thereto by the National Commissioner, after consulting with a person required to make a report contemplated in subsection (5), has reasonable grounds to suspect that a transaction referred to in that subsection may constitute an offence contemplated in section 4, that police official may direct that person, in writing, not to proceed with the carrying out of that transaction or any other transaction in respect of the property affected by that transaction for a period as may be determined by that police official, which may not be more than five days.

 

(7) For the purposes of calculating the period of five days in subsection (6), Saturdays, Sundays and proclaimed public holidays must not be taken into account.

 

(8) Subsection (6) does not apply to the carrying out of a transaction to which the rules of an exchange licensed in terms of the Stock Exchanges Control Act, 1985 (Act 1 of 1985), or the Financial Markets Control Act, 1989 (Act 55 of 1989), apply.

 

(9) For the purposes of this Act, no duty of secrecy or confidentiality or any other restriction on the disclosure of information, whether imposed by legislation or arising from the common law or agreement, affects the duty of compliance with this section by an accountable institution, supervisory body or reporting institution as defined in section 1 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, or any other person.

[Section 12(9) inserted by the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and  related activities Amendment Act, 2022, by section 10 of Notice No. 1533, G47803, dated 29 December 2022]

 

(10) Subsection (9) does not apply to the common law right to legal professional privilege as between an attorney and the attorney’s client in respect of communications made in confidence between—
(a) the attorney and the attorney’s client for the purposes of legal advice or litigation which is pending or which has commenced; or
(b) a third party and an attorney for the purposes of litigation which is pending or has commenced.

[Section 12(10) inserted by the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and  related activities Amendment Act, 2022, by section 10 of Notice No. 1533, G47803, dated 29 December 2022]