I have the honour to submit to you in terms of section 7(2) of the South African Law Reform Commission Act 19 of 1973, the Commission's report on all its activities from 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005.
In the year under review a number of factors impeded the Commission's production in so far as it related to the publication of issue papers, discussion papers and reports. Of the nineteen full-time research posts on the Commission's establishment, seven were vacant and one researcher was seconded to Justice College. The vacancies were the result of four internal promotions, one resignation, and two transfers on request. In addition, on request of the Minister and Director-General of the Department of Social Development, two researchers were made available to assist with the parliamentary process in respect of the Children's Bill, and they became members of the Children's Bill Technical Task Team established by the Interdepartmental Children's Bill Steering Committee.
The importance and magnitude of Project 25: Statutory law revision necessitated a reprioritisation of the Commission's law reform programme and a re-allocation of the Commission's human resources to underpin the project. The progress made in the investigation is discussed in Chapter 4. With the advent of a Constitutional democracy in 1994 the legislation enacted before 1994 remained in force. Consequently there are many provisions on the statute book that do not comply with our Constitution, compounded by the fact that at least some of these provisions were enacted to promote the policy of apartheid. Although many of these Acts and provisions have been repealed or amended, many still remain, which lead to litigation to have these provisions declared unconstitutional. Many provisions contained in legislation enacted before 1994 are not only unconstitutional but also redundant or obsolete. The investigation is aimed at ensuring compliance with the Constitution. Government has previously endorsed the investigation and has subsequently requested the identiï¬cation of all legislation enacted prior to 1994 relating to gender insensitivity, or which is discriminatory in nature and unconstitutional as well as the review of provisions in the legislative framework that would result in discrimination as deï¬ned in section 9 of the Constitution (the prohibition of unfair discrimination on the basis of gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status and ethnic and social orientation). Although the Commission's audit of national legislation does not, at this stage, include remnants of legislative enactments passed by the provincial legislatures, governments of the former self-governing territories and the so-called "homelands" of the previous political dispensation, the idea is to extend the investigation to other areas as the investigation progresses and sufï¬cient manpower becomes available.
Most of the Commission's investigations are very complex in nature and necessitate an international perspective, for example the investigations into trafï¬cking in persons and consolidated legislation pertaining to international co-operation in civil matters. In other investigations an entire branch of the law is examined and revised, for example a review of the law of evidence. Annexure C reï¬ects the present research programme of the Commission.
This annual report covers the period from 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005.
No issue papers were published for general information and comment in the year under review.
Issue papers published by the Commission are listed in Annexure E.
Discussion papers published by the Commission are listed in Annexure F.
No reports were approved by the Commission in the year under review.
The recommendations contained in the reports on surrogate motherhood (Project 65) and access to minor children by interested persons (Project 100) are incorporated in Chapter 20 and clause 23 respectively in the Children's Bill (Project 110: Review of the Child Care Act, 1983).
A report on a compensation fund for victims of crime in South Africa was approved by the Commission on 6 March 2004, and subsequently submitted to the Minister.
A progress report on investigations not yet completed appears in Chapter 4.
The South African Law Reform Commission was established by the South African Law Reform Commission Act 19 of 1973.
A judge of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal or a High Court, as Chairperson.
Not more than eight persons who appear to the President to be ï¬t for appointment on account of the tenure of a judicial ofï¬ce or on account of experience as an advocate or as an attorney or as a professor of law at any university, or on account of any other qualiï¬cation relating to the objects of the Commission.
Section 7A of the Act provides for the establishment of committees of the Commission. There are two categories: committees appointed by the Commission and consisting of members of the Commission only (such as the working committee), and committees consisting of members of the Commission and persons who are not members of the Commission. The latter are appointed by the Minister. The object of the second category of committees is to utilise the expertise of persons outside the Commission and to ensure direct community involvement in the activities of the Commission.
Under the ï¬rst category of committees, the Commission has established a working committee which consists of members of the Commission co-opted for meetings according to their availability.
The working committee may be considered the executive committee of the Commission. In accordance with the Commission's directives, this committee attends on a continuous basis to routine matters and other matters that require urgent attention. The working committee may exercise all the functions of the Commission excluding the approval of reports. The Commission follows the practice of instituting project committees consisting of experts to assist with investigations and to advise the Commission if a speciï¬c investigation in the Commission's programme so requires.
The names of the members of the project committees appear in Annexure B. The Commission would like to express its appreciation to individuals and organisations for their willingness to serve on project committees of the Commission.
The Commission is assisted in its task by a full-time secretariat consisting of ofï¬cials on the establishment of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The secretariat consists of an administrative component and a professional component. The Chief Director, Mr W Henegan, serves as the Secretary to the Commission.
The research component of the secretariat consists of 19 State Law Advisers from diverse backgrounds. Their task is to do the necessary research under the guidance of project leaders (who are designated by the Commission), to consult with interested parties, to compile issue papers, discussion papers and draft reports and to carry out other assignments of the Commission.
Seven posts of Senior State Law Adviser are vacant.
The Commission wishes to express its appreciation to the members of the secretariat for their outstanding services to the Commission and the high standard of working documents and reports developed by the research staff.
The Commission also wishes to express its appreciation to the various project leaders (from within and outside the Commission) for guiding the researchers, for the research done by them and for the documents and reports compiled under their guidance.
The Commission's resources are supplemented by funding and technical assistance from foreign and local donors for speciï¬c projects. During the period under review the Commission has received technical and ï¬nancial support from the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The Commission wishes to record its sincere appreciation to the GTZ.
The annual report of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development contains information on the Commission's programme performance and financial statements.
The Act provides that the Commission must from time to time draw up programmes listing in order of priority the matters which in its opinion require consideration. The Commission's programme is subject to the Minister's approval.
The Commission's present programme appears in Annexure C. Annexure D contains a list of all the investigations included in the Commission's programme since its inception and indicates the ï¬nal result or current state of investigations.
Any person or body is free to submit proposals for law reform to the Commission. In each case the Commission considers the merits of a proposal. In some instances a preliminary inquiry is instituted in order to determine whether the inclusion of a matter in the Commission's programme is justiï¬ed. The Commission also includes matters in the programme of its own accord.
Every effort is made to dispose of urgent matters with the least possible delay. However, the Commission has to follow certain procedures which sometimes take up considerable time. The availability of funds and skilled research capacity, the nature and extent of the inquiry and the need for consultation all determine the time spent on each project. Consultation, in particular, is time-consuming, but the Commission regards it as an indispensable part of the law reform process.
Research is done to determine authoritatively the existing legal position and to identify shortcomings or deï¬ciencies that need to be rectiï¬ed. Consultation takes place between the researcher and project committee (where one exists) and interested parties or persons with particular knowledge concerning the matter under investigation. Comparative studies are carried out in order to enable the Commission to beneï¬t from experiences elsewhere in the world. The consultation process is facilitated by the Commission's policy (since 1996) of compiling issue papers as a ï¬rst step.
Discussion papers contain essential information on the investigation and the Commission's tentative proposals for reform. In particular, a discussion paper will include a statement of the existing legal position and its deï¬ciencies, a comparative survey, and a range of possible solutions. In most cases the discussion paper will also include a draft Bill. Members of the public are informed of the availability of discussion papers by press releases and press conferences. In addition, copies are distributed to organisations and, sometimes, individuals whose views on the subject under discussion the Commission particularly wishes to canvass. The responses to the provisional proposals are carefully studied before ï¬nal decisions are made. The Commission also hears oral evidence in appropriate cases. Its recommendations are embodied in comprehensive reports, which are submitted to the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development.
In making its recommendations, the Commission bears in mind that there is a need to provide access to justice for all, to protect the rights of all parties - especially those of women and children, to make legal processes affordable, to make the law less complicated, and to give effect to the values and principles underlying the Constitution.
Judging from comments received, the Commission's discussion papers and reports are of a high standard. There appears to be an increasing tendency in the faculties of law of various universities to prescribe the Commission's discussion papers and reports as literature for their students at undergraduate as well as postgraduate level.
In view of the many valuable comments and proposals received on the Commission's recommendations as contained in its documents, there is no doubt that its working methods have proved successful. These methods ensure that the Commission's ï¬nal recommendations are well substantiated and are the product of thorough debate. They also facilitate the enactment of the Commission's proposed legislation, which embodies the recommendations.
In the course of its activities, the Commission publishes a variety of documents.
Commission papers and committee papers are internal documents that are normally not available outside the ranks of the Commission. In these papers suggestions for the inclusion of matters in the Commission's programme, research results for the information of or consideration by the Commission, draft issue papers, discussion papers and reports as well as a variety of other matters are dealt with. The papers are numbered in sequence as they serve before the Commission.
In order to involve the community actively at an earlier stage, the Commission publishes issue papers for appropriate investigations as the ï¬rst step in the consultation process. The purpose of an issue paper is to announce an investigation, to clarify the aim and extent of the investigation, and to suggest the options available for solving existing problems.
Discussion papers, previously referred to as working papers, are documents in which the Commission's preliminary research results are contained. In most cases discussion papers also contain draft legislation. The main purpose of these documents is to test public opinion on solutions identiï¬ed by the Commission.
The Act requires the Commission to prepare a full report on any matter investigated by it and to submit such reports together with draft legislation, if any, to the Minister for consideration. All reports of the Commission are ofï¬cial, but not all are published. Annexure D lists the investigations reported on by the Commission since its establishment.
In addition to the reports on particular investigations, the Act provides that the Commission must annually submit to the Minister a report on all its activities during the previous year.
This series has been used mainly for publications intended to make the common law more readily available and contains translated common law sources and noters-up. Papers published in this way are listed in Annexure G.
Issue papers and discussion papers are supplied free of charge to interested institutions and persons who wish to comment on a particular matter. These papers are widely distributed and are also obtainable from the Commission's ofï¬ces. The annual report, papers in the research series and reports on investigations that are published can be purchased from the Government Printer in Pretoria.
The Commission met on 12 March 2005. The working committee of the Commission met on 1 June and 7 September 2004.
that the South African Law Reform Commission be requested to investigate the possibility of a speciï¬c civil action in respect of consequential damages arising from hoaxes (including the possibility of punitive damages) separate from the expenses incurred by the security services, to deal with such hoaxes. The civil action is intended to be separate from the reimbursement order, which may be made by a Court after a conviction in respect of the offence relating to hoaxes (Clause 18(2) of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Bill). A provision to this effect in our law is, for example, in respect of riot damage, which occurs as a result of gatherings and demonstrations (see section 11 of the Regulation of Gatherings Act, 1993 (Act No. 205 of 1993)).
In March 2004 the Minister for Safety and Security requested the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development to refer the Portfolio Committee's request to the South African Law Reform Commission for investigation. The request was referred to the Law Reform Commission in July 2004. In September 2004 the Commission approved the inclusion of the investigation in the Commission's programme.
The Minister approved the inclusion of an investigation into "a specific civil action in respect of consequential damages arising from hoaxes" in the Commission's programme in October 2004.
The retention of the oath in the Criminal Procedure Act, the Civil Proceedings Evidence Act or any other legislation governing the taking of an oath or making of an afï¬rmation in afï¬davits, which would be ï¬exible so that it can easily be adapted to religions which are not part of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
The reversal of the current order so that the afï¬rmation is the "standard" option and an oath the subordinate option.
The removal of the religious oath and replacement with a non-religious afï¬rmation or promise to tell the truth.
As a result of the reprioritisation of the Commission's research programme which was decided on in consultation with the Minister, the Minister approved the removal of the investigation into the abolition of the oath from the Commission's programme in September 2004.
In this Chapter the position regarding uncompleted investigations on the Commission's programme is discussed.
Technical assistance (including funding) to run the project on statutory law revision has been made available by the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) since January 2003. The investigation involves purging the statute book of redundant, obsolete and unconstitutional provisions.
All State Departments have been informed in writing during July 2004 of the investigation and requested to submit any views or proposals they may have. Departments were invited to bring to the Commission's attention any particular problems relating to legislation administered by them, and requested to nominate a senior management ofï¬cial to assist the Commission on policy issues. In addition, a provisional audit of national legislation appearing on the statute book from 1910 up until the present was compiled. The audit reï¬ected that there are 2 809 individual statutes, which include principal Acts, amendment Acts, partially repealed Acts, private Acts, and supplementary or additional Acts. Departments were approached during August 2004 with copies of the audit to identify the statutes administered by them, and by the end of October 2004 responses were received from all 30 Departments. A total of 328 statutes are still unaccounted for in terms of Departmental responsibility (excluding all the private Acts which do not fall within the public sector). Follow-up letters were dispatched on 2 November 2004 in an attempt to establish Departmental responsibility in respect of the statutes that are unaccounted for. In addition, meetings were held with the Commission on Gender Equality and the South African Human Rights Commission respectively during November 2004 in order to discuss the investigation and to establish mutual co-operation. The respective Commissions were requested to alert the Law Reform Commission of legislation considered to be unconstitutional. A meeting with the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities is also planned.
In August 2004 a draft discussion paper on the review of the Interpretation Act 33 of 1957 was considered in group discussions in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. The draft Bill is being ï¬nalised by a consultant.
The investigation initially dealt with international and domestic commercial arbitration only. A report on international arbitration was submitted to the Minister in July 1998 and a report on domestic arbitration was submitted to the Minister in June 2001.
A draft report on community dispute resolution structures was considered by the Commission in March 2005. Amendments are being effected to the draft report and Bill.
The preparation of a draft discussion paper on family mediation is receiving attention.
The ï¬nalisation of a draft discussion paper has been delayed as a result of the researcher's resignation. The preparation of a draft discussion paper is receiving attention subject to the ï¬nalisation of the investigations into protected disclosures (project 123), stalking (project 130) and trafï¬cking in persons (project 131).
The project will receive further attention after the completion of Project 126: Review of the law of evidence.
The purpose of the investigation is inter alia to determine whether legal recognition should be given to same-sex and opposite sex partnerships and if so, what criteria should be used in determining the permanence of the relationship. The investigation is aimed at harmonising family law with the provisions of the Bill of Rights, and speciï¬cally with the constitutional values of equality and dignity. Consideration is being given to the question whether the criteria should be status, or contract-based.
The legalisation of same-sex marriages.
The introduction of a scheme of registered partnerships.
The formal extension of rights and obligations of partnership to adults living in an interdependent relationship which is not a conjugal relationship.
An issue paper on domestic partnerships was published for general information and comment in September 2001. A discussion paper was published for general information and comment in August 2003 and is discussed in the 03/04 annual report.
A report with ï¬nal recommendations and draft legislation will be ï¬nalised after the Constitutional Court judgment in respect of same sex marriages.
There is a need to review existing legislation in this area especially in the light of South Africa's trade and other relations with foreign countries. The present position is that, subject to certain statutory exceptions, a foreign judgment is not directly enforceable in South Africa. Common law procedures are available to litigants but these are expensive, time-consuming and complex.
An issue paper on consolidated legislation pertaining to international co-operation in civil matters was published for general information and comment in January 2003.
A discussion paper was published for general information and comment in June 2004.
The discussion paper examines the various pieces of legislation and the limited extent of their application, thereby highlighting their shortcomings and inadequacies. It is clear that current statutory enforcement has limited scope, thereby rendering it ineffective. The discussion paper identiï¬es the gaps, overlaps, inadequacies and obstacles which hinder progress in this area.
Possible remedies to these problems are also recommended in the discussion paper. The recommendations relate to accession to the relevant Hague Conventions; the provision of a uniform procedure relating to the obtaining of foreign evidence; making the procedure for service of documents abroad applicable to all foreign states; clarity regarding the common law; clarity regarding the international competence of foreign courts; amendments to the Prescription Act; amendments to the Protection of Businesses Act; the use of only one statute for the enforcement of foreign maintenance orders; and the amendment of the Foreign Civil Judgments Act.
The researcher assigned to the project was transferred to the Rules Board with effect from 1 November 2004. A new researcher will be assigned to the project when capacity becomes available.
The Commission, as far back as 1988, undertook an investigation with a view to improving the plight of mentally incapacitated persons who cannot afford the costs involved in securing a High Court appointed curator. Its recommendations led to the adoption of the Mentally Ill Persons' Legal Interests Amendment Act 109 of 1990, which amended the Mental Health Act 18 of 1973. This amendment enabled an interested person to apply to the Master of the High Court (which entails insigniï¬cant costs) for the appointment of a curator to a person who is not declared to be mentally ill, but whom the applicant believes to be suffering from mental illness to such an extent that the person is incapable of managing his or her own affairs.
An issue paper on incapable adults was published in December 2001. A discussion paper was published for general information and comment in January 2004 and is discussed in the 03/04 annual report. It was decided to do further research and consult with certain experts in the process of collating comments and reï¬ning the proposed draft legislation. A draft report is being prepared.
The purpose of the Protected Disclosures Act 26 of 2000 (the PDA) is to provide for procedures and to offer protection to employees who blow the whistle on their employers.
An issue paper dealing with the need for the extension of the ambit of the PDA was published in the form of a questionnaire in January 2003.
The ambit of the PDA should be extended beyond the strict employer-employee relationship to include independent contractors, consultants, agents and other such workers. This would considerably extend the legal environment in which disclosures may safely be made. Comment is invited on the further extension of the protection of the Act to all persons, i.e. the introduction of what is provisionally termed citizens' whistleblowing.
The list of forms of victimisation should be left open-ended to allow additional forms, bearing in mind that any form of victimisation suffered by a whistleblower will inevitably have to be shown to be related to an act of whistleblowing. Further, the deï¬nition of 'occupational detriment' should be extended to include reprisals such as defamation actions; suits based on the alleged breach of a conï¬dentiality agreement or duty; and the loss of a contract or the failure to acquire a contract.
The PDA should provide for the exclusion of criminal and civil liability on making a protected disclosure.
Where the identity of a whistleblower is known, it should as far as possible be kept conï¬dential and protected.
Section 4 of the PDA should be amended to provide expressly for claims for damages with no ceiling; and courts and tribunals should be directed to take into account the actual loss suffered by a claimant when awarding damages.
It is proposed that, without reducing the existing ï¬exibility of section 4 of the Act, the PDA should expressly provide for speciï¬c remedies such as interdicts, including mandatory interdicts.
The PDA should not criminalise the act of knowingly making a false disclosure, and nor should it make it an offence for an employer to subject a person to an occupational detriment.
The comment received on the discussion paper has been collated. The researcher is awaiting comment from the members of the Anti-Corruption Co-ordinating Committee and for the re-submission of comment withdrawn by NEDLAC. The preparation of a draft report is receiving attention.
Privacy is a valuable aspect of personality. While potential invasions of privacy can come from many sources, a chief concern in recent years has been information privacy. Information privacy has been deï¬ned as the claim of individuals, groups or institutions to determine for themselves how, when and to what extent information about them is collected, stored or communicated to others. Information about people and their activities can range from medical records, purchasing habits and property ownership to borrowing habits at the video store, cell phone conversations and surï¬ng practices on the Internet - all mostly recorded in digital form. It is clear that personal information has acquired a market value.
An issue paper was published for general information and comment in August 2003 and is discussed in the 03/04 annual report. A draft discussion paper and draft Bill are being ï¬nalised.
An issue paper was published for general information and comment in August 2003 and is discussed in the 03/04 annual report. The researcher involved in the preparation of a draft discussion paper was transferred to another department. A new researcher will be assigned to the project when capacity becomes available.
It was decided to follow an incremental approach in this investigation. "The principle of relevance" and "hearsay evidence" are aspects that have been identiï¬ed for immediate research. The review of the law of evidence is a specialised ï¬eld and experts have been contracted to do the research.
The previous Minister requested the Commission to investigate administration orders and to follow an incremental approach to distinguish between reforms that could be effected in the short and medium terms and reforms that could be effected in the medium to long terms. The project committee decided in January 2005 to suspend this investigation until the National Credit Bill has been enacted in Parliament. A subcommittee of the project committee has recommended that administration orders in its present form should be abolished since appropriate debtor relief is available in terms of the National Credit Bill provided certain adjustments are made to the Bill. This decision will be submitted to the Commission for consideration.
A questionnaire was distributed publicly and the closing date was extended to 31 May 2003. The processing of questionnaires is still continuing. Although nearly 400 inquiries were received as a result of the publicity that the investigation had received, less than 100 questionnaires were returned to the Commission. In view of the fact that this investigation is of interest to the public in general, the response was not considered as sufï¬cient. By contacting inquirers that had requested questionnaires, the response rate was more than doubled.
The researcher is involved in a departmental task team on the Children's Bill. The investigation will continue when capacity becomes available.
Research will commence when capacity becomes available.
Stalking can broadly be deï¬ned as any type of harassing and intimidating conduct that causes a person to fear for his or her safety. There are different categories of stalkers for example delusional erotomanics, "former intimate" stalkers, sociopathic stalkers, disgruntled clients, cyberstalkers and debt collectors.
An issue paper was published for general information and comment in August 2003 and is discussed in the 03/04 annual report.
A discussion paper was published in September 2004. The discussion paper contains a draft Bill which embodies a civil and a criminal remedy to address stalking behaviour. The primary focus of the Bill is to interrupt the pattern of behaviour before physical harm ensues. The civil remedy mirrors the Domestic Violence Act, 1998. The aim of this remedy is to enable victims of stalking, who fall outside the protection of the Domestic Violence Act, with the option of obtaining a protection order. The Commission also recommends that stalking be made a crime so as to holistically address the pattern of behaviour which constitutes stalking, as opposed to the current situation where individual acts of stalking are dealt with and prosecuted independently. The Commission proposes that persistent unwanted attention that causes one to fear or which causes detriment or distress, should be the point at which mere unwanted attention or annoying behaviour becomes criminal behaviour. This remedy would be applicable to more serious instances of stalking and where the identity of the stalker is unknown to the person being stalked.
A draft report on stalking is being ï¬nalised.
An issue paper was published for general information and comment in January 2004 and is discussed in the 03/04 annual report. The submissions received on the issue paper have been collated. A draft discussion paper is being developed, but its ï¬nalization is being delayed by the researcher's involvement in the Children's Bill process.
The background to this investigation is provided in Chapter 3. Research in the investigation has commenced.
The Administration of Estates Amendment Act 47 of 2002 was passed. In view of the wording of the order of the majority in the Bhe case (Bhe and Others v Magistrate Khayelitsha and Others 2005 (1) SA 580 (CC)) the law on administration of estates has been uniï¬ed and no urgent amendments are required. Amendments to provide for more than one spouse and implement the Bhe decision are receiving the attention of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Measures to improve the administration process and reduce the work of the supervising authority and executors, as far as can be justiï¬ed, have been investigated and a discussion paper dealing with this is being developed.
The Commission depends for the efï¬cient performance of its functions on the co-operation of institutions and persons who have an interest in its investigations. In order to ensure the best possible involvement of interested parties, therefore, it is the Commission's policy to inform the public as far as possible of new investigations undertaken and of issue papers and discussion papers published for general information and comment. Issue papers and discussion papers of the Commission are released by way of press statements so as to ensure good coverage. However, the Commission also submits issue papers and discussion papers of its own accord to institutions that have an interest in the investigations concerned. The reaction to these documents is an indispensable link in the process of law reform and it plays an important role in the eventual recommendations made by the Commission in its reports.
The good relations maintained by the Commission with law reform bodies and institutions in other countries make the exchange of consultation papers, reports and other information possible. In this way valuable information is exchanged that facilitates and expedites comparative law research. It is signiï¬cant how various legal systems are often faced with similar problems. The exchange of documents and information enables the Commission to evaluate thinking elsewhere in the world.
Towards the end of 2001 a conference was convened in Tanzania on best practices in law reform following a visit of the Law Reform Commission of Tanzania to its South African counterpart. The conference resolved that an Association of Law Reform Agencies for Eastern and Southern Africa be established, and a steering committee to take the process forward was elected. In January 2003 a meeting of the steering committee took place in Tanzania where a draft Constitution for the Association was ï¬nalised.
Subsequently a meeting was held in Namibia in August 2003, where representatives of law reform agencies in Eastern and Southern Africa convened to ï¬nalise the establishment of the Association, to consider the draft Constitution, to ï¬nalise the terms of reference of the Executive Committee of the Association, and to deliberate on the future functioning of the Association.
The ï¬rst general meeting of ALRAESA after its formal establishment was hosted by the South African Law Reform Commission in Cape Town from 2 - 4 March 2004 in conjunction with a workshop on law reform. The event was signiï¬cant since it created an occasion to extend the membership of ALRAESA and it also afforded the opportunity to participate in the discussions and decisions affecting the development of ALRAESA. From the perspective of developing trends in law reform as well as strengthening ties with other law reform agencies in Africa, the ALRAESA workshop was of great consequence. The following countries were represented at the general meeting and workshop: Botswana; Kenya; Lesotho; Malawi; Namibia; Rwanda; South Africa; Swaziland; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.
An international law reform conference took place in Cape Town from 15 - 17 March 2005 as an ALRAESA initiative, but which was hosted by the Commission. The theme of the conference was "Law Reform in Action: Reviewing the Past, Reforming the Present, and Anticipating the Future". The conference was attended by 90 representatives from 19 countries in Africa as well as Australia, Austria, Canada, China, England, Ireland, Mauritius, New Zealand and Scotland. Developing constitutional democracies in Africa beneï¬ted greatly from interacting with law reform agencies that have for many years been operating in a constitutional democracy and have kept abreast with an intricate and rapidly changing social climate. Globalisation and the development of MODEL laws have brought legal systems closer together. In many respects the spotlight of the world has been turned on Africa and its emerging constitutional democracies where there is a particularly strong need for law reform. The conference presented a unique opportunity to exchange and share ideas in this regard and to strengthen ties with law reform agencies in Africa as well as with other Commonwealth countries.
Parallel sessions at the conference focussed on methodology and operational issues applicable to law reform agencies and others who are not speciï¬cally attached to law reform agencies, but who are involved in the development of legislation. Issues that were covered included project planning and management as well as different forms of research methodology. These sessions offered a signiï¬cant training opportunity to researchers at law reform agencies that are members of ALRAESA, in particular, as well as other law reformers, in general.
Apart from dealing with routine enquiries on a regular basis, researchers and project committee members also participate in various programmes and discussions relating to their research projects. These take the form of, among other things, interviews with radio stations, television appearances, articles in law journals, and liaison with individuals and institutions.
In line with the Commission's policy to broaden its consultation base, extensive workshops and brieï¬ngs in respect of relevant investigations are held. An effort is made to host the workshops and present brieï¬ngs in as many different locations (urban and rural) as possible and the target audiences are, among others, the legal fraternity, relevant NGOs, state departments, Portfolio Committees, relevant experts, and the community in general. This approach facilitates co-operation between the Commission and other role players, serves to publicise the Commission's activities and ensures that duplication of initiatives is avoided.
The Law Reform Commission's comprehensive website can be located at http://www.doj.gov.za/salrc/index.htm. Any person with access to the Internet can subscribe to a free notiï¬cation service for new Law Reform Commission publications.
During the period under review a substantial number of persons and institutions responded to speciï¬c or general invitations by the Commission to comment on particular issues or to assist it with its activities in some respect. It is impossible, within the scope of this report, to mention all contributors. However, the Commission expresses its sincere thanks to all concerned - without their goodwill and assistance the Commission would not be able to perform its duty satisfactorily.
In conclusion, the Commission wishes to thank the Minister and Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development for their personal interest in and support of the Commission's work. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development as a whole is thanked for its co-operation and goodwill.
(Current investigations marked with an asterisk, see Chapters 3 and 5.
(In order to involve the community actively at an earlier stage, the Commission decided to publish issue papers in appropriate investigations as the ï¬rst step in the consultation process. The purpose of an issue paper is to announce an investigation, to elucidate the aim and extent of the investigation, to point to possible options available for solving existing problems and to initiate and stimulate debate on identiï¬ed issues.