| (1) | Any practitioner who after the holding of an inquiry referred to in section 23 (1) is found guilty of unprofessional conduct or of conduct which in consideration of any profession in respect of which that practitioner is registered, is unprofessional, shall be liable to one or other of the following penalties, namely— |
| (a) | a caution or a reprimand or a reprimand and a caution; or |
| (b) | suspension for a specified period from practising any profession in respect of which he is registered or from performing any act specially pertaining to any profession in respect of which he is registered; |
| (c) | removal of his name from the register; or |
[Section 24(1) substituted by section 24(b) of Act No. 50 of 2000]
| (2) | Any penalty imposed under subsection (1) shall be reduced to writing, signed by the chairperson of the council and made known to the practitioner concerned, and thereafter the registrar shall cause the name of that practitioner and the penalty so imposed to be published in the Gazette. |
[Section 24(2) substituted by section 12(b) of Act No. 108 of 1995]
| (a) | The council, or any committee of the council, or a professional board, where any such committee or professional board holds an inquiry under powers delegated to it by the council, may for purposes of any such inquiry take evidence and may, under the hand of the chairperson of the council or the chairperson of any such committee or board or the secretary of the council, summon any witness and require the production of any book, record, document or article, and may through the chairperson concerned administer the oath to or accept an affirmation from any witness, and may examine any book, record, document or article which a witness has been so required to produce. |
[Section 24(3)(a) substituted by section 24(c) of Act No. 50 of 2000]
| (b) | A summons to appear before the council or the committee concerned as a witness or to produce to it any book, record, document or article, shall, as nearly as practicable, be in the prescribed form and shall be served either by registered letter sent through the post or in the same manner as a subpoena in civil proceedings in a magistrate's court. |
| (c) | Any person who has been duly summoned under this subsection and who— |
| (i) | refuses, or without sufficient cause fails, to attend at the time and place specified in the summons and give evidence relevant to the inquiry; |
| (ii) | refuses to take the oath or to make an affirmation when required to do so by the chairperson concerned; |
| (iii) | refuses to produce any book, record, document or article which he has in terms of the summons been required to produce; or |
| (iv) | attends before the council or the committee concerned but refuses to answer or to answer fully and satisfactorily to the best of his knowledge and belief any question lawfully put to him, |
shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction liable to a fine, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months: Provided that a person so summoned shall be entitled to all the privileges to which a witness subpoenaed to give evidence before a provincial division of the High Court is entitled.
[Section 24(3)(c) substituted by section 24(d) of Act No. 50 of 2000]
| (4) | The chairperson of the council, where the council itself holds any such inquiry, or the chairperson of any professional board, or committee of the council, holding any such inquiry, may appoint a person with adequate experience in the administration of justice as an assessor at the inquiry to advise the council, the professional board or the committee concerned, as the case may be, on matters of law, procedure or evidence. |
[Section 24(4) substituted by section 24(e) of Act No. 50 of 2000]
| (5) | In any case where the evidence in support of any complaint, charge or allegation is of a documentary nature, and in any other case which the council may think fit, the secretary of the council may act as pro forma complainant at the inquiry concerned. |
| (6) | Any practitioner whose conduct is being inquired into in terms of section 23(1), shall at the inquiry concerned be afforded the opportunity of personally or through his legal representative answering the complaint, charge or allegation concerned and being heard in his defence. |
[Section 24(6) substituted by section 12(b) of Act No. 108 of 1985]
| (7) | The council may on such conditions as it may determine— |
| (a) | terminate any suspension imposed under subsection (1)(b) before the expiry of the specified period; and |
[Section 24(7)(a) substituted by section 24(f) of Act No. 50 of 2000]
| (b) | on payment of the prescribed fee, restore to the register any name which has been removed therefrom by virtue of a penalty imposed under subsection (1)(c). |
| (a) | A penalty imposed under subsection 1 (d) shall be paid to the registrar within 14 days after such imposition. |
| (b) | [Section 24(8)(b) deleted by section 15(c) of Act No. 63 of 1993]] |
| (c) | The imposition of a penalty in terms of subsection (1) (d), shall have the effect of a civil judgment of the magistrate's court of the district in which the inquiry by the council took place. |
[Section 24(8) inserted by section 12(c) of Act No. 108 of 1985]
| (9) | If any person registered in terms of this Act is alleged to be guilty of unprofessional conduct or conduct which, in consideration of the profession in respect of which that person is registered, is unprofessional, and the council or a professional board is of the opinion that on conviction after an inquiry under section 23, a fine not exceeding the prescribed amount shall be imposed on him or her, the council or professional board may issue a summons as prescribed against such person upon which an endorsement is made by the council or a professional board that such person may admit that he or she is guilty of the said conduct and that he or she may pay the fine stipulated. |
[Section 24(9) substituted by section 24(g) of Act No. 50 of 2000]
| (10) | If a person summoned in terms of subsection (9), admits his guilt in respect of the conduct referred to in subsection (1) by paying the stipulated fine to the council before a date specified in the summons, an inquiry shall not be held under section 23. |
[Section 24(10) inserted by section 15(d) of Act No. 63 of 1993]
| (11) | Payment of a fine in terms of subsection (10) shall not be regarded as a previous conviction with regard to any subsequent inquiry into the conduct of such person and shall not be published in the Gazette in terms of subsection (2). |
[Section 24(11) inserted by section 15(d) of Act No. 63 of 1993]
| (12) | The Minister may, on the recommendation of the council, by notice in the Gazette amend the amount referred to in subsection (9). |
[Section 24(12) inserted by section 15(d) of Act No. 63 of 1993]
