Institution of Legal Proceedings against certain Organs of State Act, 2002 (Act No. 40 of 2002)1. Definitions |
| (1) | In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise— |
means a person who intends to institute legal proceedings against an organ of state for the recovery of a debt or who has instituted such proceedings, and includes such person's tutor or curator if such person is a minor or mentally ill or under curatorship, as the case may be;
means the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996);
means any debt arising from any cause of action—
| (a) | which arises from delictual, contractual or any other liability, including a cause of action which relates to or arises from any— |
| (i) | act performed under or in terms of any law; or |
| (ii) | omission to do anything which should have been done under or in terms of any law; and |
| (b) | for which an organ of state is liable for payment of damages, |
whether such debt became due before or after the fixed date;
means the date of commencement of this Act;
means—
| (a) | a department mentioned in the first column of Schedule 1 to the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation No. 103 of 1994), but excludes a provincial administration; or |
| (b) | an organisational component mentioned in the first column of Schedule 3 to that Act; |
"notice"
means a notice contemplated in section 3(1)(a);
"organ of state"
means—
| (a) | any national or provincial department; |
| (b) | a municipality contemplated in section 151 of the Constitution; |
| (c) | any functionary or institution exercising a power or performing a function in terms of the Constitution, or a provincial constitution referred to in section 142 of the Constitution; |
| (d) | the South African Maritime Safety Authority established by section 2 of the South African Maritime Safety Authority Act, 1998 (Act No. 5 of 1998); |
| (e) | The South African National Roads Agency Limited contemplated in section 3 of The South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act, 1998 (Act No. 7 of 1998); |
| (f) | National Ports Authority Limited, contemplated in section 4 of the National Ports Act, 2005, and any entity deemed to be the National Ports Authority in terms of section 3 of that Act; |
| (g) | any person for whose debt an organ of state contemplated in paragraphs (a) to (f) is liable; |
[Definition amended by section 88 of Act No. 12 of 2005]
means—
| (a) | a provincial administration mentioned in the first column of Schedule 1 to the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation No. 103 of 1994); or |
| (b) | a department within a provincial administration and mentioned in the first column of Schedule 2 to that Act. |
| (2) | This Act does not apply to any debt— |
| (a) | which has been extinguished by prescription before the fixed date; or |
| (b) | which has not been extinguished by prescription before the fixed date and in respect of which any legal proceedings were instituted before the fixed date. |
| (3) | Any legal proceedings referred to in subsection (2)(b) must be continued and concluded as if this Act had not been passed. |
| (4) | For purposes of this Act, legal proceedings are instituted by service of any process, excluding a notice, on an organ of state in which a creditor claims payment of a debt. |