Domestic Violence Act, 1998 (Act No. 116 of 1998)RegulationsDomestic Violence Regulations, 202214. Subpoena of person as witness or to provide book, document or object (section 5A(1)) |
| (1) | A subpoena must— |
| (a) | if it is issued for any person to appear as a witness, correspond substantially with Form 14 of the Annexure; or |
| (b) | if it is issued for any person to provide any book, document or object, correspond substantially with Form 15 of the Annexure. |
| (2) | The subpoena referred to in subregulation (1) must contain the following information: |
| (a) | The date and time of appearance; |
| (b) | the physical address of the court and the court room number in which the witness must appear; |
| (c) | the name and contact details of the person with whom arrangements can be made for audio-visual testimony, if this manner of testifying is a suitable option for the witness; and |
| (d) | the consequences of not complying with the subpoena. |
(3)
| (a) | After the clerk of the court has issued the subpoena, the original of the subpoena must be served upon the person affected thereby— |
| (i) | by hand and the person to be served must be given a copy thereof; or |
| (ii) | electronically. |
| (b) | The person serving the subpoena must notify the person to be served of— |
| (i) | the purpose of the subpoena; |
| (ii) | the consequences of the failure to comply with the subpoena; and |
| (iii) | the right to raise an objection against the provision of the subpoenaed book, document or object concerned. |
| (4) | The return of service must, together with the duplicate subpoena, be submitted to the clerk of the court who must capture such documents on the ICMS, and record the relevant information relating thereto in the integrated electronic repository. |
| (5) | A subpoena contemplated in subregulation (1) must be served on the person affected by it at least 10 days before the date of hearing. |
| (6) | Where a person is subpoenaed as contemplated in subregulation (1)(b), such person must, before 12:00 pm on the day before the date of hearing— |
| (a) | deliver the book, document or object specified in the subpoena to the clerk of the court by hand; |
| (b) | if practical, send the said book, document or object to the clerk of the court electronically; or |
| (c) | if practical, upload the said book, document or object on the online portal. |
| (7) | A person who objects to providing the book, document or object specified in the subpoena— |
| (a) | must, in writing before 12:00 pm on the day before the date of hearing, notify the clerk of the court in person or electronically of— |
| (i) | the intention to raise an objection; and |
| (ii) | the grounds upon which such objection is based; and |
| (b) | must attend court in person or with a legal practitioner on the day of the hearing, to raise the objection. |
(8)
| (a) | In the case of an audio-visual hearing contemplated in subregulation (2)(c), the link for the remote audio-visual testimony must be sent to the witness before the hearing commences. |
| (b) | If the witness fails to attend the audio-visual hearing, proof of the link and any response to the electronic hearing link, must be submitted to the court. |
| (c) | Where the witness is unable to connect to the audio-visual hearing at the time of the hearing, the witness must report such inability to the clerk of the court for assistance. |