Legal Practice Act Regulations

The Council for Legal Practice responded that the regulations were for people coming from universities and colleges. Rather, the structured study work aimed to bridge the gap between university and legal practice. The Chairman thanked the officials for clarifying the matter before the Committee. The committee would discuss the issues at its next meeting and there would be a report from the committee on the regulations. Ms. Charity Nzuza, Director General of the Council of Legal Practice, added that the call for public comments had been published in the Government Gazette and distributed to lawyers. The proposed amendments were widely publicized, but only two comments were received from Legal Aid South Africa. No substantive comments were received on the proposed Regulations. The Committee was informed that the Council for Legal Practice had requested amendments to articles 6 and 7. The challenge of providing the necessary training, as well as inequality in education itself, was identified as one of the biggest barriers to entry into the legal profession.

The Council on Legal Practice has examined the differences between the legal profession and the legal profession. A uniform programme of compulsory internships, to be followed by all future legal practitioners, would be put in place. This program included special courses aimed at empowering aspiring lawyers in various areas of law and achieving a satisfactory level of learning. The Council on Legal Practice took into account the views of all relevant stakeholders. The Council on Legal Practice has recognized the evolution of the legal profession with respect to the same graduates. An increasing number of lawyers have the right to appear before higher courts. Article 94(1)(i) of the Law on the practice of the profession of lawyer lays down the rules relating to the requirements of practical professional training for trainee lawyers within the meaning of Article 26(1)(c). Article 26 of the Law on Legal Practice regulates minimum qualifications and practical vocational training. Paragraphs 26(1)(a) and (b) set out qualification requirements. Under Article 26(1)(c), a trainee lawyer must satisfy all the practical professional training requirements laid down by the Minister. The term “decreed” was defined in § 1 of the Law on Legal Practice as “prescribed by regulation”. All published regulations must be submitted by the Minister to Parliament for approval before being published in the Official Gazette.

M. Clement Marumoagae, Chair of the Education Committee of the Council on Legal Practice, responded that it was important to understand the context in which prior knowledge could be recognized. The regulations were aimed at people coming from academic institutions and higher education. The previous apprenticeship that would be taken into account was the candidate`s degree, regardless of age. In terms of structured courses, it was more about bridging the gap between university and legal practice. The goal was to allow students to make a smooth transition from student to lawyer. The Committee was informed of the proposed amendments to the rules on practical professional training requirements for future legal practitioners. Members were informed that amendments to Articles 6 and 7 had been requested by the Council of Legal Practice to address educational inequalities, which had been identified as one of the main barriers to entry into the legal profession. Legal Practice Act Regulations: Information Session The Under Secretary of State for Justice and Correctional Services, John Jeffreys, explained that the National Forum on the Legal Profession makes proposals to the Minister and that the Minister must indeed convert them into regulations for submission to Parliament. The first set of election rules was presented in July, the other in early August 2018.

Parliament requires the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to approve regulations. Parliament has the choice to adopt or reject regulations, but it cannot amend them. If Parliament rejects the regulation, it will have to return to the National Forum to do so again, which will result in delays since the regulation is scheduled to come into force on November 1, 2018. The deputy minister said that the only time the minister has authority over regulations is when the National Forum disagrees. There were problems with the training provided. The minister therefore made a proposal that had to be approved by the National Forum. The regulations were released by the ministry for public comment before finally being approved by the National Forum. Mr. Max Boqwana, Vice President of the National Forum, said the National Bar Forum is the body that includes all lawyers in the country, lawyers from all bar associations, lawyers, the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL), the Association of Black Lawyers (BLA), Legal Aid and university deans.

Essentially, this is the last work they have done in the last two years to federate the profession, put it on the path to transformation and ensure access to the profession. The objective of this meeting is to ensure that the Law on Legal Practice moves to the next stage. In the next step, two dates are particularly important: on November 1, 2018, the entire law must enter into force, for which the regulations must be approved. What they have to do with today are the bylaws that deal with elections for the composition of the governance structure of the National and Provincial Legal Practice Boards (LPCs). A third important topic is vocational training, as there must be additional training after university. The last point is the dissolution of the National Forum, which was an essential negotiating forum to get to this point. The life of the National Forum ends on the 30th. August 2018. This means that these regulations should come into force by September 1, 2018, as this is the day the electoral process begins. Ms. Charity Nzuza, Executive Director of the National Forum, said the National Forum presented its recommendations to the Minister. These recommendations have been translated into draft regulations.

Paragraph 109(1)(a) of the Act requires the Minister to make regulations within six months after receiving the recommendations. The semester ended on April 30, 2018. Regulations must be approved by Parliament before being published in the Official Journal. Ms. Nzuza stated that with regard to the rules governing electoral procedure, section 7(2) of the Act states that the composition of legal practice boards shall take into account the racial and gender composition of South Africa. Article 2 lays down the procedure for the election of legal practitioners to the Council. There will be a separate voters list for lawyers and lawyers. Each candidate must be nominated by two practising lawyers, as the case may be.