Correctional Services Act, 1998 (Act No. 111 of 1998)

Chapter X : Independent Correctional Centre Visitors

93. Powers, functions and duties of Independent Correctional Centre Visitors
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1)An Independent Correctional Centre Visitor shall deal with the complaints of inmates by –
a)regular visits;
b)interviewing prisoners in private;
c)recording complaints in an official diary and monitoring the manner in which they have been dealt with; and
d)discussing complaints with the Head of the Correctional Centre, or the relevant subordinate correctional official, with a view to resolving the issues internally.

 

2)An Independent Correctional Centre Visitor, in the exercise and performance of such powers, functions and duties, must be given access to any part of the correctional centre and to any document or record.

 

3)The Head of the Correctional Centre must assist an Independent Correctional Centre Visitor in the performance of the assigned powers, functions and duties.

 

4)Should the Head of the Correctional Centre refuse any request from an Independent Correctional Centre Visitor relating to the functions and duties of such a Visitor, the dispute must be referred to the Inspecting Judge, whose decision will be final.

 

5)An Independent Correctional Centre Visitor must report any unresolved complaint to the Visitors' Committee and may, in cases of urgency or in the absence of such a committee, refer such complaint to the Inspecting Judge.

 

6)The Inspecting Judge may make rules concerning, or on the appointment of an Independent Correctional Centre Visitor, specify, the number of visits to be made to the correctional centre over a stated period of time and the minimum duration of a visit, or any other aspect of the work of an Independent Correctional Centre Visitor.

 

7)Each Independent Correctional Centre Visitor must submit a quarterly report to the Inspecting Judge, which shall include the duration of visits, the number and nature of complaints dealt with, and the number and nature of the complaints referred to the relevant Visitors’ Committee.