To provide for the remuneration and conditions of employment of judges of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and the High Courts; and for matters connected therewith.
[Definition of 'annual salary' substituted by s. 14 (a) of Act 28 of 2003.
[Definition of 'partner' inserted by s. 14 (b) of Act 28 of 2003.
'spouse' means a person to whom a Constitutional Court judge or judge is legally married. [Definition of 'spouse' added by s. 14 (c) of Act 28 of 2003.
to whom corresponding legislation in any homeland, as defined in Item 1 of Schedule 6 to the Constitution, which, immediately before the date of commencement of this Act, had not been repealed, applied.
an allowance at the rate of R3 500 per annum, which allowance shall not be taxable, unless Parliament expressly provides otherwise.
Any remuneration contemplated in subsection (1), shall be paid as a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund.
No Constitutional Court judge or judge may, without the consent of the Minister, accept, hold or perform any other office of profit or receive in respect of any service any fees, emoluments or other remuneration apart from his or her salary and any amount which may be payable to him or her in his or her capacity as such a Constitutional Court judge or judge.
[S. 2 substituted by s. 15 of Act 28 of 2003.
may at any time on his or her request and with the approval of the President be discharged from active service as a judge if there is any reason which the President deems sufficient.
may at any time on his or her request and with the approval of the President be discharged from active service as a Constitutional Court judge if there is any reason which the President deems sufficient.
A Constitutional Court judge whose 12-year term of office as a Constitutional Court judge expires before he or she has completed 15 years' active service must, subject to subsection (2), continue to perform active service as a Constitutional Court judge to the date on which he or she completes a period of 15 years' active service, whereupon he or she must be discharged from active service as a Constitutional Court judge.
A Constitutional Court judge who, on attaining the age of 70 years, has not yet completed 15 years' active service, must continue to perform active service as a Constitutional Court judge to the date on which he or she completes a period of 15 years' active service or attains the age of 75 years, whichever occurs first, whereupon he or she must be discharged from active service as a Constitutional Court judge.
he or she still qualifies to hold office as such a judge in a permanent capacity in terms of section 3 (2) or subsection (4).
who is not a judge contemplated in section 174 (5) of the Constitution, from being appointed to the office of judge in a court other than the Constitutional Court by the President on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission as contemplated in the Constitution, if he or she still qualifies to hold office as such a judge in a permanent capacity in terms of section 3 (2) or subsection (4).
suspends any salary payable in terms of section 5 to that judge pursuant to such discharge from active service.
may not be less than the annual salary applicable to the highest office held as a Constitutional Court judge or a judge.
A judge who on attaining the age of 70 years has not yet completed 15 years' active service, may continue to perform active service to the date on which he or she completes a period of 15 years' active service or attains the age of 75 years, whichever occurs first, whereupon he or she must be discharged from active service as a judge.
C represents the period in years of active service of such Constitutional Court judge or judge.
in terms of section 3 (1) (b) or (c) or 3 (2) (c) or (d) before he or she attains the age of 65 years, shall, subject to paragraph (b) , be not more than 80 per cent of his or her highest annual salary during the period of his or her active service.
in respect of any active service performed after the date of commencement of this Act be taken into account.
If a Constitutional Court judge or a judge to whom a salary is payable in terms of this section dies, the payment of the salary shall cease with effect from the first day of the month following the month in which he or she died.
E represents the period in years of active service, but not exceeding 20 years, of such a Constitutional Court judge or judge in the office concerned.
After the completion of 15 years' active service a Constitutional Court judge or judge shall once be entitled, if he or she so requests, to be paid the gratuity (or any part thereof) which has until the date of the request accrued in accordance with the formula in subsection (1).
After the completion of 20 years' active service a Constitutional Court judge or judge shall once be entitled, if he or she so requests, to be paid the gratuity (or any portion thereof) which has until that date accrued in accordance with the formula in subsection (1), or the balance available after the exercise of the power in terms of subsection (2).
A judge referred to in section 4(4) shall once be entitled, when he or she attains the age of 70 years and has completed not less than 10 years' active service, to be paid, if he or she so requests, the gratuity (or any portion thereof) which has until the date of that request accrued in accordance with the formula in subsection (1).
The total amount of any gratuity payable in terms of this section to a Constitutional Court judge or judge shall not exceed three times his or her highest annual salary during the period of his or her active service.
For the purposes of this section the period of active service shall be calculated by the year and the month, and fractions of a month shall be taken into account.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law, the gratuity payable to Constitutional Court judges or judges under this section shall not be taxable.
has already attained the age of 75 years, may voluntarily perform further service, if his or her services are so requested, if that Constitutional Court judge's or judge's mental and physical health enable him or her to perform such service.
Service referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of 'service' in section 1, in a permanent post on the establishment of a particular court, may, subject to paragraph (b A) , only be performed if that service is requested by the Chief Justice, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal or the judge president in whose area of jurisdiction the Constitutional Court judge or judge resides or of the court to which he or she was attached when discharged from active service, or with his or her consent, any other judge president, in consultation with the Chief Justice or the judge president in question, as the case may be, and the Minister so approves, after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission.
[Para. (b) substituted by s. 34 (a) of Act 66 of 2008.
(b A) Service referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of 'service' in section 1 which becomes necessary as a result of the creation of an additional temporary post on the establishment of a particular court, to deal with additional workload or backlogs which have developed, may be performed if that service is approved by the Minister after consultation with the head of the court in question, and for the period decided by the Minister, which period may not exceed three months at a time.
[Para. (b A) inserted by s. 34 (b) of Act 66 of 2008.
Service as mentioned in paragraph (b) , (c) or (d) of the definition of 'service' in section 1 may be performed only with the consent of the Constitutional Court judge or judge concerned.
A Constitutional Court judge or judge who performs service in terms of subsection (1), as contemplated in paragraph (a) of the definition of 'service' in section 1, shall, subject to paragraph (b) (ii), monthly be paid an additional amount in remuneration which is equal to the amount which at that time is payable to the holder of the office which he or she holds for that period.
the proviso to subsection (1) (a) (i) or in subsection (1) (a) (ii), read with paragraph (a) of the definition of 'service' in section 1, shall monthly be paid such remuneration as the President may determine.
fails to perform the minimum period of service referred to in that subsection if so requested, shall, for every full year during which he or she so fails, be reduced by two per cent: Provided that such reduction shall, in the aggregate, not amount to more than 10 per cent of such salary.
The registrar of the Supreme Court of Appeal or a High Court where a Constitutional Court judge or judge performs service in terms of subsection (1), shall notify the Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development immediately of the commencement and duration of the service.
The Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development shall keep a register of all service performed by Constitutional Court judges or judges in terms of subsection (1).
A Chief Justice who becomes eligible for discharge from active service in terms of section 3 (1) (a) or 4 (1) or (2), may, at the request of the President, from the date on which he or she becomes so eligible for discharge from active service, continue to perform active service as Chief Justice of South Africa for a period determined by the President, which shall not extend beyond the date on which such Chief Justice attains the age of 75 years.
A President of the Supreme Court of Appeal who becomes eligible for discharge from active service in terms of section 3 (2) (a) or 4 (4), may, at the request of the President, from the date on which he or she becomes so eligible for discharge from active service, continue to perform active service as President of the Supreme Court of Appeal for a period determined by the President, which may not extend beyond the date on which such President of the Supreme Court of Appeal attains the age of 75 years.
Provided that if the Constitutional Court judge or judge is survived by more than one spouse, the amount envisaged in paragraph (a) or (b) shall be divided equally between the spouses concerned, unless the judge concerned determined otherwise in accordance with a regulation made under section 13 (1) (c B).
The amount payable to the surviving spouse or partner of a Constitutional Court judge or judge in terms of subsection (1) shall be payable with effect from the first day of the month immediately succeeding the day on which he or she died, and shall be payable until the death of such spouse or partner.
[S. 9 substituted by s. 16 of Act 28 of 2003.
if such Constitutional Court judge or judge is not survived by a spouse or partner, be payable to the estate of such Constitutional Court judge or judge, a gratuity which shall be equal to the amount of the gratuity which would have been so payable to such Constitutional Court judge or judge had he or she not died but was, on the date of his or her death, discharged from active service as aforesaid: Provided that if the Constitutional Court judge or judge is survived by more than one spouse, the gratuity calculated in terms of this section shall be divided equally between the spouses concerned, unless the judge concerned determined otherwise in accordance with a regulation made under section 13 (1) (c B).
[S. 10 substituted by s. 16 of Act 28 of 2003.
Any resignation by a Constitutional Court judge or judge which is not contemplated in this Act precludes the payment of any benefits to such person in terms of this Act to which a Constitutional Court judge or judge would otherwise be entitled on discharge from active service.
A Constitutional Court judge who is a judge contemplated in section 174 (5) of the Constitution or a judge who holds office in a permanent capacity, who already has attained the age of 65 years and has performed 15 years' active service may resign from office by notice in writing to the President that he or she no longer wishes to serve in the office of such judge, and shall vacate his or her office upon acceptance of such resignation.
a gratuity in accordance with the formula set out in section 6 (1).
A Constitutional Court judge who is not a judge contemplated in section 174 (5) of the Constitution who has completed a 12 year term of office as a Constitutional Court judge or who has attained the age of 70 years, whichever occurs first, may resign from office by notice in writing to the President and must vacate his or her office upon acceptance by the President of such resignation.
The provisions of section 6 (7) apply with the necessary changes in respect of any gratuity payable in terms of this section.
The surviving spouse or partner of a Constitutional Court judge or judge referred to in subsection (2) or (4) must, with effect from the first day of the month immediately succeeding the month in which he or she dies, be paid an amount equal to two thirds of the salary which was payable to that Constitutional Court judge or judge in terms of subsection (3) (a) or (5) (a) , which amount shall be payable until the death of such spouse or partner: Provided that if the Constitutional Court judge or judge is survived by more than one spouse, the amount concerned shall be divided equally between the spouses concerned, unless the judge concerned determined otherwise in accordance with a regulation made under section 13 (1) (c B).
[Sub-s. (7) substituted by s. 31 of Act 55 of 2003.
A motor vehicle owned by the State may, on such conditions as the Minister may determine with the concurrence of the Minister of Transport, be made available to any person who holds office as a Constitutional Court judge or judge in a permanent or acting capacity, whether he or she performs active service or service, for use, in accordance with the conditions so determined, in the course of his or her official functions as well as for his or her private purposes.
[Para. (c A) inserted by s. 17 (a) of Act 28 of 2003.
[Para. (c B) inserted by s. 17 (a) of Act 28 of 2003.
[Para. (e) deleted by s. 17 (b) of Act 28 of 2003.
A regulation under subsection (1) may provide that an amount referred to in paragraph (c) or (d) of that subsection shall be calculated either in accordance with a scale or having regard to the expenses actually incurred in connection with the matter concerned.
The Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development shall, subject to the directions of the Minister, be charged with the general administration of this Act.
Salaries, allowances and benefits payable in terms of sections 2, 5, 6,7, 9, 10 and 11 of this Act shall be paid as a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund and on such dates and in such manner as the Minister may from time to time determine.
Decree 19 (Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Service) of 1990 (Decree 19 of 1990) (Transkei), by section 17 of this Act, the regulations which were made under the said Acts and were in force immediately before the date of commencement of this Act and which are not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force in respect of those judges to which the regulations applied immediately prior to the commencement of this Act until they are repealed, withdrawn or amended by regulations made under section 13 of this Act.
section 1 of Decree 19 (Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Service) of 1990 (Decree 19 of 1990) (Transkei), performed by a judge referred to in section 1 prior to the commencement of this Act is, for the purposes of this Act, deemed to be active service or service as contemplated in section 1 (1) of this Act.
a judge in the former South West Africa prior to its independence and who, at the commencement of this Act, holds office as a judge of a High Court.
If a judge who has been seconded for active service or service as a judge of a High Court or Supreme Court of a homeland as defined in Item 1 of Schedule 6 to the Constitution, dies or is discharged from active service while holding the office of chief justice of such a High Court or Supreme Court of such a homeland in a permanent capacity, his or her salary shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be that of a judge president of a High Court.
If a judge who has been seconded for service as a judge of a High Court or Supreme Court of a homeland as defined in Item 1 of Schedule 6 to the Constitution, holds the office of chief justice of such a High Court or Supreme Court in a permanent or acting capacity, and if the amount of the salary and allowance payable to him or her in terms of section 2 (1) is less than the amount of the salary and allowance payable in terms of that subsection to a judge president of a High Court, he or she shall, in addition to the salary and allowance payable to him or her as aforesaid, be paid an allowance equal to the difference between the amount of the salary and allowance payable to him or her as aforesaid and the amount of the salary and allowance payable as aforesaid to such a judge president.
Section 4 of Decree 19 (Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Service) of 1990 (Decree 19 of 1990) (Transkei) continues to apply to any person to whom it applied at the date of commencement of this Act as if it had not been repealed.
Any person who retired as a judge in terms of the Judges' Pensions Act, 1978 (Act 90 of 1978), and who, at the commencement of this section, receives a pension in terms of the said Judges' Pensions Act, 1978, is, from the date of commencement of this section, entitled to an amount equal to two thirds of the salary payable to a judge contemplated in section 5 (1) of this Act who held the same or a similar office to that of the retired judge on the date of the latter's retirement from office and who has the same number of years' service in an acting or permanent capacity.
[Para. (b) substituted by s. 32 (a) of Act 55 of 2003.
Any surviving spouse of a judge who retired as a judge in terms of the Judges' Pensions Act, 1978, and who, on or after 3 May 2002, receives a pension in terms of the said Act, is, from 3 May 2002 or any later date from which such surviving spouse is entitled to such a pension, entitled to an amount equal to three quarters of the amount to which his or her deceased spouse would have been entitled under paragraph (a).
[Para. (c) substituted by s. 32 (a) of Act 55 of 2003.
shall be payable until the death of such spouse. [Para. (d) added by s. 32 (b) of Act 55 of 2003.
The amounts payable to persons in terms of this subsection shall be adjusted whenever the annual salary payable to a Constitutional Court judge or a judge, as the case may be, is increased.
[Para. (e) added by s. 32 (b) of Act 55 of 2003.
In applying this subsection, no person may be paid an amount which is less than that which he or she received before any adjustment was made under this subsection. [Para. (f) added by s. 32 (b) of Act 55 of 2003.
[Date of commencement of sub-s. (4): 3 May 2002.
The laws mentioned in the Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent set out in the third column thereof.
This Act shall be called the Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act, 2001.
Section 16 (4) comes into operation on a date fixed by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.