Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 (Act No. 25 of 2002)Accreditation RegulationsChapter IV : Suspension, revocation and termination23. Suspension and revocation |
| (1) | Prior to revoking the accreditation of any authentication product or service resulting in and used to support an electronic signature as contemplated in section 39 of the Act, the South African Accreditation Authority must, in addition to the requirements in section 39(2) of the Act— |
| (a) | publish a notice in its database and in any other medium that it regards as appropriate to the effect that it is in the process of revoking the accreditation of the authentication product or service in question; |
| (b) | appoint an accreditation officer and an evaluator to oversee the winding-up of the service provider's accredited operations; |
| (c) | ensure that the authentication service provider communicates the revocation to subscribers and relying parties immediately; |
| (d) | ensure that the service provider revokes all accredited authentication products or services issued to its subscribers and records the manner, time and date of revocation; |
| (e) | ensure that the accreditation officer and the evaluator each issue a report certifying compliance with the prescribed revocation process; |
| (f) | make arrangements for the preservation of records as provided for in terms of section 38(4)(f) of the Act in accordance with the manner and period contemplated in regulation 20; and |
| (g) | ensure that the revocation is conducted with minimal disruption to subscribers and relying parties. |
| (2) | The South African Accreditation Authority must publish all suspensions and revocations in its publicly accessible database. |
| (3) | If an authentication product or service is provided by a consortium of persons, the main applicant contemplated in regulation 6 must, prior to any merger, acquisition, take-over or similar business transaction that changes the composition of the consortium of persons, notify the South African Accreditation Authority of such business transaction to enable the South African Accreditation Authority to re-evaluate the authentication product or service and the accreditation. |
| (4) | Notification under sub-regulation (3) above must be accompanied by— |
| (a) | the application fee contemplated in regulation 29(1)(a); and |
| (b) | relevant information that changes the original application in terms of regulation 6, subject to any other information that the South African Accreditation Authority may request. |
| (5) | If an authentication product or service is provided by a consortium of persons and the composition of the consortium of persons changes as a result of any merger, acquisition, take-over or similar business transaction, the accreditation of the product or service is deemed suspended as contemplated in section 39 of the Act from the date of such transaction unless the South African Accreditation Authority confirms the accreditation prior to such transaction. |