[Heading amended by section 21 of Act No. 40 of 2014]
(1) The law societies known as—
| (a) | The Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope; |
| (b) | The Law Society of the Orange Free State; |
| (c) | The Law Society of the Transvaal; |
| (d) | The Natal Law Society; |
| (e) | [Section 56(1)(e) deleted by section 15 of Act No. 115 of 1993] |
shall, from the commencement of section 21 of the Attorneys Amendment Act, 2014, continue to exist as juristic persons under the following names:
| (i) | The Cape Law Society in the case of the law society referred to in paragraph (a); |
| (ii) | The Law Society of the Free State in the case of the law society referred to in paragraph (b); |
| (iii) | The Law Society of the Northern Provinces, in the case of the law society referred to in paragraph (c); and |
| (iv) | The KwaZulu-Natal Law Society in the case of the law society referred to in paragraph (d). |
| (2) | The societies referred to in subsection (1) have jurisdiction over all attorneys practising in their areas of jurisdiction as follows: |
| (a) | The Cape Law Society has jurisdiction over all attorneys practising in the provinces of the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape; |
| (b) | The Law Society of the Free State has jurisdiction over all attorneys practising in the province of the Free State; |
| (c) | The Law Society of the Northern Provinces has jurisdiction over all attorneys practising in the provinces of Gauteng, Mpumalanga, the North West and Limpopo; and |
| (d) | The KwaZulu-Natal Law Society has jurisdiction over all attorneys practising in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. |
| (3) | Any law society not mentioned in subsection (2) and which still exists or operates in terms of any other law immediately before section 21 of the Attorneys Amendment Act, 2014, comes into operation, shall dissolve on the date on which that section comes into operation: Provided that the Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, after consultation with the Law Society of South Africa, the law society into which the dissolving law society is to be amalgamated and the law society which is to be dissolved, determine any necessary arrangements in relation to the dissolution, including, subject to subsection (4), the transfer or disposal of assets and liabilities, the payment of costs and the manner in which surplus staff members of such society are to be dealt with. |
| (4) | All the rights and obligations of any society which dissolves in terms of subsection (3) shall, on dissolution, transfer as follows: |
| (a) | The rights and obligations of any society in the former Republic of Bophuthatswana or Venda transfer to the Law Society of the Northern Provinces referred to in subsection (2)(c); and |
| (b) | the rights and obligations of any society in the former Republic of Transkei or Ciskei transfer to the Cape Law Society referred to in subsection (2)(a). |
| (a) | Any pending court proceedings by or against a law society referred to in subsection (3) shall, after its dissolution, be continued by or against the society to which the rights and obligations have been transferred in terms of subsection (4). |
| (b) | Any pending disciplinary enquiries or steps taken or those enquiries or steps which may have been taken by a law society referred to in subsection (3) before its dissolution, shall be continued or taken by the society to which those rights and obligations have been transferred in terms of subsection (4), as if the former society had not been dissolved. |
[Section 56 amended by section 21 of Act No. 40 of 2014]
