| (b) | "application for leave to appeal" means an application referred to in section 309B(1)(a); |
| (c) | "application for further evidence" means an application to adduce further evidence referred to in section 309B(5)(a); and |
| (d) | "petition", unless the context otherwise indicates, includes an application referred to in subsection (2)(b)(ii). |
| (ii) | for further evidence; or |
| (iii) | for leave to appeal, |
is refused by a lower court, the accused may by petition apply to the Judge President of the High Court having jurisdiction to grant any one or more of the applications in question.
| (b) | Any petition referred to in paragraph (a) must be made— |
| (i) | within 21 days after the application in question was refused; or |
| (ii) | within such extended period as may on an application accompanying that petition, for good cause shown, be allowed. |
| (a) | If more than one application referred to in subsection (1) relate to the same matter, they should, as far as is possible, be dealt with in the same petition. |
| (b) | An accused who submits a petition in terms of subsection (2) must at the same time give notice thereof to the clerk of the lower court referred to in subsection (2)(a). |
| (4) | When receiving the notice referred to in subsection (3), the clerk of the court must without delay submit to the registrar of the High Court concerned copies of— |
| (a) | the application that was refused; |
| (b) | the magistrate’s reasons for refusal of the application; and |
| (c) | the record of the proceedings in the magistrate’s court in respect of which the application was refused |
[Section 309C(4) substituted by section 14 of Act No. 66 of 2008]
| (a) | A petition a provided for in this section must be considered in chambers by two judges designated by the Judge President. |
| (b) | If the judges referred to in paragraph (a) differ in opinion, the petition must also be considered in chambers by the Judge President or by any other judge designated by the Judge President. |
| (c) | For the purposes of paragraph (b) any decision of the majority of the judges considering the petition, shall be deemed to be the decision of all three judges. |
[Section 309C(5) substituted by section 14 of Act No. 66 of 2008]
| (6) | Judges considering a petition may— |
| (a) | call for any further information from the magistrate who refused the application in question, or from the magistrate who presided at the trial to which the application relates, as the case may be; or |
| (b) | in exceptional circumstances, order that the petition or any part thereof be argued before them at a time and place determined by them. |
[Section 309C(6) substituted by section 14 of Act No. 66 of 2008]
| (7) | Judges considering a petition may, whether they have acted under subsection 6(a) or (b) or not— |
| (a) | in the case of an application referred to in subsection (2)(b)(ii), grant or refuse the application; and |
| (b) | in the case of an application for condonation, grant or refuse the application, and if the application is granted— |
| (i) | direct that an application for leave to appeal must be made, within the period fixed by them, to the court referred to in section 309B(1); or |
| (ii) | if they deem it expedient, direct that an application for leave to appeal must be submitted under subsection (2) within the period fixed by them as if it had been refused by the court referred to in section 309B(1); and |
| (c) | in the case of an application for leave to appeal, subject to paragraph (d), grant or refuse the application; and |
| (d) | in the case of an application for further evidence, grant or refuse the application, and, if the application is granted the judges may, before deciding the application for leave to appeal, remit the matter to the magistrate's court concerned in order that further evidence may be received in accordance with section 309B(5). |
| (8) | All applications contained in a petition must be disposed of— |
| (a) | as far as is possible, simultaneously; and |
| (b) | as a matter of urgency, where the accused was sentenced to any form of imprisonment that was not wholly suspended. |
| (9) | Notice of the date fixed for any hearing of a petition under this section, and of any place determined under subsection (6) for any hearing, must be given to the Director of Public Prosecutions concerned, or to a person designated by him or her, and the accused. |
[Section 309C substituted by section 3 of Act No. 42 of 2003]
