SOUTH AFRICA
Judicial CP - December 1996

ZA Now, 20 December 1996

Justice dept announces 1997 legislative programme

(extract)

THURSDAY 5.00PM: THE Department of Justice this morning announced that it has prioritised eight Bills to be put through Parliament in the next session. The new laws include legislation deleting all references to corporal and capital punishment from the statute book, increasing the penal jurisdiction of lower courts, and a prohibition on military training by non-government institutions.

Other urgent Bills to go before the first session of Parliament next year include laws deracialising the former black divorce courts, establishing a national prosecutorial authority, and creating an office for witness protection. The department added that it hopes to pass 17 other, less urgent, laws next year, including legislation governing the payment of judges, establishing family courts, rationalising provincial and local divisions of the supreme court, and setting up a compensation fund for victims of crime.

"The promulgation of this legislation will bring our statutory law in line with the demands of an ever-changing society and will provide a more accessible justice system," the department said in a statement.

* See the Justice Department statement.

JUSTICE DEPT. LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMME FOR 1997

Issued by: Department of Justice

MEDIA RELEASE REGARDING THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMME OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR 1997

The Department of Justice has prioritised the following legislation to be finalised as early as possible during the 1997-session of Parliament:

* Magistrates' Courts Amendment Bill, 1996 which deals with committal to prison in respect of debt and new simplified debt-recovery procedure.

* Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 1997, which deletes all references to the death penalty from the Statute Book and affects consequential amendments.

* Abolition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 1997, which deletes all references to corporal punishment from the Statute Book and contains numerous consequential amendments.

* Judicial Matters Amendment Bill, 1997. This bill contains amendments which do not justify separate bills and provision is made, inter alia, for

* the increase of the penal jurisdiction of the lower courts;

* the prohibition of military training by non-governmental institutions.

The promulgation of this legislation will bring our statutory law into line with the demands of an ever-changing society and will provide a more accessible justice system.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRETORIA 19 DECEMBER 1996