(1)
| (a) | Any person who is arrested with or without warrant for allegedly committing an offence, or for any other reason, shall as soon as possible be brought to a police station or, in the case of an arrest by warrant, to any other place which is expressly mentioned in the warrant. |
| (b) | A person who is in detention as contemplated in paragraph (a) shall, as soon as reasonably possible, be informed of his or her right to institute bail proceedings. |
| (c) | Subject to paragraph (d), if such an arrested person is not released by reason that— |
| (i) | no charge is to be brought against him or her; or |
| (ii) | bail is not granted to him or her in terms of section 59 or 59A, |
he or she shall be brought before a lower court as soon as reasonably possible, but not later than 48 hours after the arrest.
| (d) | If the period of 48 hours expires— |
| (i) | outside ordinary court hours or on a day which is not an ordinary court day, the accused shall be brought before a lower court not later than the end of the first court day; |
| (ii) | or will expire at, or if the time at which such period is deemed to expire under subparagraph (i) or (iii) is or will be, a time when the arrested person cannot, because of his or her physical illness or other physical condition, be brought before a lower court, the court before which he or she would, but for the illness or other condition, have been brought, may on the application of the prosecutor, which, if not made before the expiration of the period of 48 hours, may be made at any time before, or on, the next succeeding court day, and in which the circumstances relating to the illness or other condition are set out, supported by a certificate of a medical practitioner, authorise that the arrested person be detained at a place specified by the court and for such period as the court may deem necessary so that he or she may recuperate and be brought before the court: Provided that the court may, on an application as aforesaid, authorise that the arrested person be further detained at a place specified by the court and for such period as the court may deem necessary; or |
[Section 50(1)(d)(ii) substituted by section 3(a) of Act No. 34 of 1998]
| (iii) | at a time when the arrested person is outside the area of jurisdiction of the lower court to which he or she is being brought for the purposes of further detention and he or she is at such time in transit from a police station or other place of detention to such court, the said period shall be deemed to expire at the end of the court day next succeeding the day on which such arrested person is brought within the area of jurisdiction of such court. |
[Section 50(1) substituted by section 1(a) of Act No. 85 of 1997]
| (2) | For purposes of this section— |
| (a) | "a court day" means a day on which the court in question normally sits as a court and "ordinary court day" has a corresponding meaning; and |
| (b) | "ordinary court hours" means the hours from 9:00 until 16:00 on a court day. |
[Section 50(2) substituted by section 1(a) of Act No. 85 of 1997]
| (3) | Subject to the provisions of subsection (6), nothing in this section shall be construed as modifying the provisions of this Act or any other law whereby a person under detention may be released on bail or on warning or on a written notice to appear in court. |
[Section 50(3) substituted by section 8(1)(a) of Act No. 62 of 2000]
| (4) | [Section 50(4) deleted by section 99(1) of Act No. 75 of 2008] |
| (5) | [Section 50(5) deleted by section 99(1) of Act No. 75 of 2008] |
(6)
| (a) | At his or her first appearance in court a person contemplated in subsection (1)(a) who— |
| (i) | was arrested for allegedly committing an offence shall, subject to this subsection and section 60— |
| (aa) | be informed by the court of the reason for his or her further detention; or |
[Section 50(6)(a)(i)(aa) substituted by section 3(b) of Act No. 34 of 1998]
| (bb) | be charged and be entitled to apply to be released on bail, |
and if the accused is not so charged or informed of the reason for his or her further detention, he or she shall be released; or
| (ii) | was not arrested in respect of an offence, shall be entitled to adjudication upon the cause for his or her arrest. |
| (b) | An arrested person contemplated in paragraph (a)(i) is not entitled to be brought to court outside ordinary court hours. |
| (c) | The bail application of a person who is charged with an offence referred to in Schedule 6 must be considered by a magistrate’s court: Provided that the Director of Public Prosecutions concerned, or a prosecutor authorised thereto in writing by him or her may, if he or she deems it expedient or necessary for the administration of justice in a particular case, direct in writing that the application must be considered by a regional court. |
[Section 50(6)(c) substituted by section 8(1)(b) of Act No. 62 of 2000]
| (d) | The lower court before which a person is brought in terms of this subsection, may postpone any bail proceedings or bail application to any date or court, for a period not exceeding seven days at a time, on the terms which the court may deem proper and which are not inconsistent with any provision of this Act, if— |
| (i) | the court is of the opinion that it has insufficient information or evidence at its disposal to reach a decision on the bail application; |
| (ii) | the prosecutor informs the court that the matter has been or is going to be referred to an attorney-general for the issuing of a written confirmation referred to in section 60(11A); |
| (iii) | [Section 50(6)(d)(iii) deleted by section 8(1)(c) of Act No. 62 of 2000] |
| (iv) | it appears to the court that it is necessary to provide the State with a reasonable opportunity to— |
| (aa) | procure material evidence that may be lost if bail is granted; or |
| (bb) | perform the functions referred to in section 37; or |
| (v) | it appears to the court that it is necessary in the interests of justice to do so. |
[Section 50(6) substituted by section 1(b) of Act No. 85 of 1997]
| (7) | [Section 50(7) deleted by section 1(c) of Act No. 85 of 1997] |
