| (1) | The chief executive officer must, subject to subsection (3) and section 18— |
| (a) | in consultation with the Board, appoint as many senior employees; |
| (b) | appoint as many other employees; and |
| (c) | designate certain officials as agents in cooperation with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, |
as may be necessary to assist Legal Aid South Africa in the exercise of its powers and performance of its functions.
| (a) | Legal Aid South Africa has the right to operate its offices without having to seek accreditation from the South African Legal Practice Council referred to in the Legal Practice Act, 2014 (Act No. 28 of 2014), and is entitled to employ candidate attorneys, subject to the provisions of the Legal Practice Act, 2014. |
| (b) | For the purposes of paragraph (a), 'offices' means national, provincial, local and satellite offices of Legal Aid South Africa which administer and provide legal aid in the Republic. |
| (c) | Despite the provisions of paragraph (a), attorneys and candidate attorneys employed by Legal Aid South Africa must be members, in good standing, of the law society having jurisdiction and are subject to the disciplinary control of the law society in question. |
[Section 17(2)(a) and (b) substituted by section 32 of the Judicial Matters Amendment Act, 2023, Notice No. 4597, GG50430, dated 3 April 2024]
| (3) | When appointing employees and designating agents as contemplated in subsection (1), the following factors must, as far as is practicable, be taken into account— |
| (a) | the racial and gender composition of South Africa; |
| (b) | the objects of Legal Aid South Africa and the Board; and |
| (c) | representation of persons with disabilities. |
