| (1) | Subject to the provisions of subsections (2), (3) and (4), a superior court or a regional court which convicts a person of one or more offences, may, if it is satisfied that the said person represents a danger to the physical or mental well-being of other persons and that the community should be protected against him, declare him a dangerous criminal. |
| (a) | If it appears to a court referred to in subsection (1) or if it is alleged before such court that the accused is a dangerous criminal, the court may after conviction direct that the matter be enquired into and be reported on in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3). |
| (b) | Before the court commits an accused for an enquiry in terms of subsection (3), the court shall inform such accused of its intention and explain to him the provisions of this section and of section 286B as well as the gravity of those provisions. |
| (a) | Where a court issues a direction under subsection (2)(a), the relevant enquiry shall be conducted and be reported on— |
| (i) | by the medical superintendent of a psychiatric hospital designated by the court, or by a psychiatrist appointed by such medical superintendent at the request of the court; and |
| (ii) | by a psychiatrist appointed by the accused if he so wishes. |
| (i) | The court may for the purposes of such enquiry commit the accused to a psychiatric hospital or other place designated by the court, for such periods, not exceeding 30 days at a time, as the court may from time to time determine, and if an accused is in custody when he is so committed, he shall, while he is so committed, be deemed to be in the lawful custody of the person or the authority in whose custody he was at the time of such committal. |
| (ii) | When the period of committal is extended for the first time under subparagraph (i), such extension may be granted in the absence of the accused unless the accused or his legal representative requests otherwise. |
| (c) | The relevant report shall be in writing and shall be submitted in triplicate to the registrar or the clerk of the court, as the case may be, who shall make a copy thereof available to the prosecutor and the accused or his legal representative. |
| (i) | include a description of the nature of the enquiry; and |
| (ii) | include a finding as to the question whether the accused represents a danger to the physical or mental well-being of other persons. |
| (e) | If the persons conducting the enquiry are not unanimous in their finding under paragraph (d)(ii), such fact shall be mentioned in the report and each of such persons shall give his finding on the matter in question. |
| (f) | Subject to the provisions of paragraph (g), the contents of the report shall be admissible in evidence at criminal proceedings. |
| (g) | A statement made by an accused at the enquiry shall not be admissible in evidence against the accused at criminal proceedings, except to the extent to which it may be relevant to the determination of the question whether the accused is a dangerous criminal or not, in which event such statement shall be admissible notwithstanding that it may otherwise be inadmissible. |
| (h) | A psychiatrist appointed under paragraph (a), other than a psychiatrist appointed by an accused, shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph (i), be appointed from the list of psychiatrists referred to in section 79(9). |
| (i) | Where the list compiled and kept in terms of section 79(9) does not include a sufficient number of psychiatrists who may conveniently be appointed for any enquiry under this subsection, a psychiatrist may be appointed for the purposes of such enquiry notwithstanding that his name does not appear on such list. |
| (j) | A psychiatrist designated or appointed under paragraph (a) and who is not in the full-time service of the State, shall be compensated for his services in connection with the enquiry, including giving evidence, from public funds in accordance with a tariff determined by the Minister in consultation with the Minister of State Expenditure. |
| (k) | For the purposes of this subsection a psychiatrist means a person registered as a psychiatrist under the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974). |
| (a) | If the finding contained in the report is the unanimous finding of the persons who under subsection (3) conducted the enquiry, and the finding is not disputed by the prosecutor or the accused, the court may determine the matter on such report without hearing further evidence. |
| (b) | If the said finding is not unanimous or, if unanimous, is disputed by the prosecutor or the accused, the court shall determine the matter after hearing evidence, and the prosecutor and the accused may to that end present evidence to the court, including the evidence of any person who under subsection (3)(a) conducted the enquiry. |
| (c) | Where the said finding is disputed, the party disputing the finding may subpoena and cross-examine any person who under subsection (3)(a) conducted the enquiry. |
[Section 286A inserted by section 21 of Act No. 116 of 1993]
