| (1) | From the date of commencement of this section, the criminal record of a person which contain the conviction and sentence of a person who— |
| (a) | is deemed to have been convicted and sentenced by a court as contemplated in section 57(6) of this Act, in respect of a specified offence; or |
| (b) | appeared in court in terms of a summons or written notice referred to in section 57(1) of this Act, in respect of a specified offence where it was permissible for that person to admit his or her guilt and who has been convicted and sentenced by the court in respect of the specified offence in question, is hereby expunged, determined from the date of payment of the admission of guilt fine referred to in paragraph (a), or the sentence referred to in paragraph (b). |
| (2) | Where the criminal record of a person referred to in subsection (1) has not been expunged automatically as provided for in that subsection, the criminal record of that person must, on his or her written application to the Director-General, in the prescribed form and manner, be expunged. |
| (3) | The Director-General must, on receipt of the written application of an applicant referred to in subsection (2), issue a prescribed certificate of expungement, directing that the conviction and sentence of the person be expunged, if the Director-General is satisfied that the person complies with the criteria envisaged in subsection (1). |
| (4) | An applicant to whom a certificate of expungement has been issued as provided in subsection (3) must, in the prescribed manner, submit the certificate to the head of the CRC, to be dealt with in accordance with subsection (5). |
| (a) | The head of the CRC or a senior person or person of the rank of Director or above, employed at the CRC, who has or have been authorised, in writing, by the head of the CRC to do so, must expunge the criminal record of a person if he or she is furnished by the applicant, with a certificate of expungement as provided for in subsection (3). |
| (b) | The head of the CRC must, on the written request of an applicant, in writing, confirm that the criminal record of the person has been expunged. |
| (6) | Where the Director-General, in terms of subsection (3), has issued a certificate of expungement, and it subsequently appears that the applicant does not meet the requirements for the expungement of his or her criminal record, the Director-General must— |
| (a) | inform the applicant in writing of the information that has come to his or her attention and that he or she intends to revoke the certificate of expungement; |
| (b) | afford the applicant an opportunity to furnish compelling written reasons to the Director-General within 90 working days after he or she is informed of the intention to revoke, why his or her record should remain expunged; |
| (c) | inform the applicant in writing within 30 working days after a decision is made of— |
| (i) | his or her decision; and |
| (ii) | the reasons for revoking the certificate of expungement; and |
| (d) | inform the head of the CRC, in writing, within 14 working days after the decision was made, to revoke the certificate of expungement and to reinstate the convictions and sentences in question. |
| (7) | If the applicant fails to furnish compelling reasons as contemplated in subsection (6)(b), the Director-General may, subject to the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No. 3 of 2000), revoke the certificate of expungement. |
| (a) | The Director-General may delegate any power or assign any duty conferred upon or assigned to him or her in terms of subsection (3) or (6) to an appropriately qualified official in the employ of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development of the rank of Deputy Director- General. |
| (b) | A delegation or assignment in terms of paragraph (a)— |
| (i) | is subject to any limitation, condition and direction which the Director-General may impose; |
| (ii) | must be in writing; and |
| (iii) | does not divest the Director-General of the responsibility concerning the exercise of the power or the performance of the duty. |
| (c) | The Director-General may— |
| (i) | confirm, vary or revoke any decision taken in consequence of a delegation or assignment in terms of this subsection, subject to any rights that may have accrued to a person as a result of the decision; and |
| (ii) | at any time withdraw a delegation or assignment. |
| (9) | For purposes of this section a ‘specified offence’ means any offence contemplated in any regulations that have been made in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002), in respect of the declaration of the national state of disaster in terms of section 27(1) of that Act, as published in terms of Government Gazette No. 43096 on 15 March 2020 and extended from time to time. |
[Section 57D inserted by section 10 of the Judicial Matters Amendment Act, 2023, Notice No. 4597, GG50430, dated 3 April 2024]
