We the Pretoria and Johannesburg judges of the Transvaal Provincial Division, wish to state our fundamental objections to the Third Draft of the Legal Practice Bill. The Draft Bill contemplates executive control of the legal profession by means of a new body, the South African Legal Practice Council. For this right to have meaningful content, every citizen must have access to lawyers to represent his or her case no matter how unpopular or controversial this may be. We hold it self-evident that the legal profession and its controlling bodies must for this reason be independent. Statutory regulation of the legal profession is undoubtedly necessary.
Executive control is unacceptable.
It is essential for the maintenance of the rule of law that the executive has no control, whether direct or indirect, over the legal profession. As the third arm of Government is must be the sole prerogative of the Judiciary to determine who is to practise as legal and paralegal practitioners and what standards of conduct are to apply to these practitioners. The Draft Bill does not give effect to the constitutional position of the Judiciary and the courts role as the ultimate arbiter of professional conduct. The continued existence of a strong and independent advocates profession is essential for the maintenance of the rule of law. 5.2 if necessary, provision can be made for the appointment of a legal ombudsman whose function would be to investigate whether complaints against legal practitioners have been properly investigated and punished and if necessary to place such matters before the court.