To amend the Attorneys Act, 1979, in order to amend, insert or delete certain definitions; to further regulate the duration of service under articles of clerkship; to provide for exemption from service under articles of clerkship; to provide for certain information to be submitted to a society before the performance of community service; to provide for the lodging, examination and registration of contracts of service; to further regulate the supervision of candidate attorneys; to further regulate absence from office of candidate attorneys; to further regulate the right of appearance of candidate attorneys; to restrict the pecuniary interests of candidate attorneys in the organization or institution where they perform community service; to regulate the termination of a contract of service; to further regulate removal from the roll of advocates; to further regulate the performance of irregular service; to further regulate practical examinations; to further regulate the admission of attorneys; to delete obsolete provisions; to further regulate the prescribing of fees; and to make further provision for the prescribing of regulations; to amend the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1944, so as to make provision for the appearance of candidate attorneys performing community service in magistrates' courts; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
BE IT ENACTED by the State President and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:- Amendment of section 1 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 1 of Act 87 of 1989 and section 1 of Act 102 of 1991 1.
on behalf of and under the control of the Legal Aid Board established under section 2 of the Legal Aid Act, 1969 (Act No.
a candidate attorney performing community service, means an attorney who is employed full-time at a law clinic or an office of the Legal Aid Board established under section 2 of the Legal Aid Act, 1969 (Act No.
Amendment of section 2 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 1 of Act 108 of 1984 2.
perform community service approved by the society concerned in terms of a contract of service for an uninterrupted period of at least one year to the satisfaction of that society.
Insertion of section 2A in Act 53 of 1979 3.
has, to the satisfaction of the society concerned, gained at least five years' appropriate legal experience, is exempted from service under articles of clerkship in terms of section 2(1), and from the provisions of section 2(1A).
Insertion of section 4A in Act 53 of 1979 4.
the contract of service in which the date is mentioned upon which he will commence community service and at which law clinic or office of the Legal Aid Board, as the case may be, he intends performing community service.
Substitution of section 5 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 3 of Act 87 of 1989 5.
The original of any articles of clerkship or contract of service shall within two months of the date thereof be lodged by the principal concerned with the secretary of the society of the province in which the service under such articles or contract of service is to be performed.
The secretary of the society concerned shall, on payment of the fees prescribed under section 80, examine any articles or contract of service lodged with him and shall, if he is satisfied that the articles are or contract of service is in order and that the council has no objection to the registration thereof, on payment of the fees so prescribed register such articles or contract of service and shall advise the attorney principal and candidate attorney concerned of such registration in writing by certified post.
If articles of clerkship are or a contract of service is not registered within two months of the date thereof, any service thereunder shall be deemed to commence on the date of registration thereof.
Amendment of section 6 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 4 of Act 87 of 1989 and section 3 of Act 102 of 1991 6.
Amendment of section 7 of Act 53 of 1979, as substituted by section 5 of Act 87 of 1989 7.
"(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), a candidate attorney may, with the consent of his principal, absent himself from office for a period which does not, or for periods which in the aggregate do not, exceed thirty working days in any one year of the articles of clerkship or contract of service."
(3) If any period of absence from office exceeds, or the periods of absence from office in the aggregate exceed, thirty working days in any one year of articles of clerkship or contract of service, the period in excess of thirty working days shall be added to the period for which the candidate attorney is bound to serve under articles or contract of service.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6, one half of any period of absence from the office of his principal by a candidate attorney as a result of training undergone by him in the South African Defence Force in terms of section 3 of the Defence Act, 1957 (Act No. 44 of 1957), shall, subject to a maximum period of three months, be deemed to have been served under such articles of clerkship or contract of service.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6, any period of absence not exceeding six months of a candidate attorney from the office of his principal for the purpose of attending a training course approved by the society concerned, shall, if that candidate attorney has completed that course to the satisfaction of that society, be deemed to have been served under articles of clerkship or contract of service: Provided that in the case of a candidate attorney referred to in sections 2(1A) and 2A the period of attending a training course shall not be deemed to be a period that that candidate attorney has served under articles of clerkship or contract of service.
Amendment of section 8 of Act 53 of 1979, as substituted by section 6 of Act 87 of 1989 8.
"(a) Any candidate attorney who is entitled to appear as contemplated in subsection (1), shall at the expiry of his articles or contract of service, and provided he remains in the employ of the attorney who was his principal immediately before such expiry, or provided he remains in the service of the law clinic or the Legal Aid Board concerned, as the case may be, remain so entitled until he is admitted as an attorney, but not for longer than six months.".
Substitution of section 9 of Act 53 of 1979, as substituted by section 7 of Act 87 of 1989 9.
A candidate attorney shall not have any pecuniary interest in the practice and service of an attorney, or in the organization or institution where he performs community service, and shall not, without the prior written consent of the council of the society of the province in which he performs service under the articles or contract of service, hold or occupy any office or engage in any other business other than that of candidate attorney.
If any candidate attorney contravenes the provisions of subsection (1), the articles or contract of service shall be void ab initio and service rendered thereunder shall be ineffectual unless the court on good cause shown otherwise directs.
Substitution of section 11 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 5 of Act 108 of 1984 and section 9 of Act 87 of 1989 10.
If articles of clerkship are or a contract of service is for any reason cancelled, abandoned or ceded, the attorney to principal with whom the candidate attorney concerned is articled serving at that time shall forthwith in writing notify the secretary of the society of such cancellation, abandonment or cession.
If articles of clerkship have or a contract of service has been cancelled or abandoned before completion thereof, the court may in its discretion on the application of the person who served under such articles or contract of service and subject to such conditions as the court may impose, order that for the purposes of this Act, the whole or such part of the period served under such articles or contract of service as the court deems fit, be added to any period served by that person under articles or a contract of service entered into after the first-mentioned articles were or contract of service was cancelled or abandoned, and any period so added shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to have been served under the last-mentioned articles or contract of service and continuously with any period served thereunder.
if the period served by such person under the first-mentioned articles of clerkship is equal to or exceeds the period which he would, at the time of the making of the application, be required to serve under articles of clerkship in terms of this Act, that the period so served be considered as adequate service under articles for the purposes of this Act, and thereafter any period so served by such person shall be deemed to have been served after and under articles entered into after he satisfied such requirements or became so entitled.
Substitution of section 12 of Act 53 of 1979, as substituted by section 1 of Act 13 of 1990 11.
Any person admitted to practice as an advocate shall not be allowed to register articles or a contract of service in terms of the provisions of this Act, unless his name has on his own application been removed from the roll of advocates.
Amendment of section 13 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 2 of Act 76 of 1980, section 1 of Act 60 of 1982, section 2 of Act 56 of 1983, section 6 of Act 108 of 1984 and section 10 of Act 87 of 1989 12.
"(2) If any person has not served regularly as a candidate attorney, the court, if satisfied that such irregular service was occasioned by sufficient cause, that such service is substantially equivalent to regular service, and that the society concerned has had due notice of the application, may permit such person, on such conditions as it may deem fit, to apply for admission as an attorney as if he had served regularly under articles or a contract of service.".
Amendment of section 14 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 1 of Act 80 of 1985 13.
has attended a training course approved by the society concerned for an uninterrupted period of at least four months and has completed such course to the satisfaction of that society.
Amendment of section 15 of Act 53 of 1979, as substituted by section 7 of Act 108 of 1984 14.
"(vi) completed his service under articles or contract of service, or has complied with the provisions of section 2(1A), within the period of three years preceding his application to the court or within the further period allowed by the court in terms of subsection (2)."
"(2) The court may in its discretion, on the application of any person and on good cause shown, allow a further period in addition to the period of three years referred to in subsection (1)(b)(vi), within which the applicant may apply for admission as an attorney, subject to such conditions, if any, as it may deem fit, including a condition relating to further service under articles or contract of service.".
Amendment of section 56 of Act 53 of 1979 15.
Section 56 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the deletion of paragraph (e).
Amendment of section 71 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 24 of Act 87 of 1989 16.
"(1) A council may in the prescribed manner inquire into cases of alleged unprofessional or dishonourable or unworthy conduct on the part of any attorney, notary or conveyancer whose name has been placed on the roll of any court within the province of its society, whether or not he is a member of such society, or of any person serving articles of clerkship or a contract of service with a member of its society, or of any former candidate attorney referred to in section 8(4).".
Amendment of section 72 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 5 of Act 80 of 1989 and section 25 of Act 87 of 1989 17. Section 72 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of the following subparagraph: "(i) cancel or suspend his articles of clerkship or contract of service;".
Amendment of section 74 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 26 of Act 87 of 1989 18.
(6) In this section 'High Court' means any high court constituted in terms of section 17I of the Development of Self-government for Native Nations in South West Africa Act, 1968 (Act No.
Territories Constitution Act, 1971 (Act No. 21 of 1971).
Amendment of section 80 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 10 of Act 108 of 1984 19.
Amendment of section 81 of Act 53 of 1979, as amended by section 5 of Act 76 of 1980, section 4 of Act 60 of 1982, section 4 of Act 56 of 1983, section 7 of Act 80 of 1985 and section 29 of Act 87 of 1989 20.
"(b) the service which is recognized as appropriate legal experience for the purposes of section 2A(c) and the period which may expire between the date on which such service has been completed and the date on which exemption from articles of clerkship may be granted;".
Substitution of section 11 of Act 87 of 1989 21.
Amendment of section 15 of Act 53 of 1979, as substituted by section 7 of Act 108 of 1984 11.
Substitution of section 21 of Act 32 of 1944, as substituted by section 35 of Act 87 of 1989 22.
A candidate attorney as defined in section 1 of the Attorneys Act, 1979 (Act No. 53 of 1979), may, subject to section 8 of that Act, appear instead and on behalf of the attorney to whom he has been articled, or under whom he serves community service in terms of a contract of service, in any proceedings in any court.
The provisions of this Act shall, in so far as they can be applied, also be applicable to a candidate attorney who, at the commencement of this Act, is serving under articles of clerkship.
This Act shall be called the Attorneys Amendment Act, 1993, and shall come into operation on a date fixed by the State President by proclamation in the Gazette.