Legal Practice Act, 2014 (Act No. 28 of 2014)RegulationsRegulations under Section 109(1)(bA) of the Act2. Manner in which teachers of law are designated for membership of Council |
| (1) | In this regulation “ordinary member” means— |
| (a) | in the case of the South African Law Deans Association, a person who is an ordinary member thereof, as defined by the Constitution for the South African Law Deans Association; and |
| (b) | in the case of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa, a person who is an ordinary member thereof, as defined by the Constitution of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa, as approved on 26 January 1989 and amended in July 1990, July 1994, January 1996 and July 2003. |
| (2) | Whenever a vacancy in the Council occurs of a dean of a faculty of law the Council must dispatch a notice to the President of the South African Law Deans Association, calling on it, before a stipulated date, to designate a dean of a faculty of law at a university in the Republic to be a member of the Council as contemplated in section 7(1)(b) of the Act. |
| (3) | The President of the South African Law Deans Association must, within 14 days after receipt of the notice referred to in subregulation (2), send a notice by email to every ordinary member of the Association, calling for nominations of deans of law for designation to the Council in the vacancy that has occurred. |
| (4) | The notice referred to in subregulation (3) must— |
| (a) | draw the attention of the ordinary members to the provisions of section 7(2) of the Act; and |
| (b) | stipulate a date by which the nominations must be emailed to the President, which date may not be earlier than ten days from the date of the notice. |
| (5) | A nomination of a dean of law must be made in a document which provides the following information in respect of the nominee: |
| (a) | His or her name and identity number; |
| (b) | his or her race and gender; |
| (c) | if he or she has a disability and wishes to disclose that fact, a statement to that effect and the nature of the disability; and |
| (d) | his or her knowledge and experience in the matters set out in section 7(2)(e) of the Act. |
| (6) | The nomination document referred to in subregulation (5) must— |
| (a) | be signed by two ordinary members; |
| (b) | be endorsed, over the signature of the nominee named therein, by his or her acceptance of the nomination; |
| (c) | contain the nominee’s confirmation that— |
| (i) | the information given therein is correct; and |
| (ii) | he or she is not disqualified in terms of section 8 of the Act from membership of the Council; and |
| (d) | be sent by email to the President of the South African Law Deans Association. |
| (7) | If more than one candidate is nominated, the President of the South African Law Deans Association must, within 14 days after the last day on which nominations were required to be emailed in terms of subregulation (4), send to every ordinary member of the Association, by email, a copy of all the nomination documents and request that ordinary member to vote, by way of an email sent to the President, before a specified date, for one dean of law for designation to the Council. |
| (8) | After the date on which the nominations were required to be emailed in terms of subregulation (7), the President of the South African Law Deans Association must— |
| (a) | in the presence of at least one other ordinary member, open the emails sent to him or her and count the votes so received; |
| (b) | retain the received emails for a period of three months after the date referred to in subregulation (4); and |
| (c) | after the three month period, destroy all the emails, unless ordered otherwise by an order of court. |
| (9) | If there is a tie between two or more nominees, which results in there being uncertainty which one has received the most votes, the question must be resolved immediately by lot drawn by the President of the South African Law Deans Association in the manner determined by him or her and in the presence of at least one ordinary member. |
| (10) | The President of the South African Law Deans Association must— |
| (a) | cause each nominee to be advised of the result of the voting; and |
| (b) | advise the Council of the particulars of the designated dean of law. |
| (11) | Whenever a vacancy in the Council occurs of a teacher of law the Council must dispatch a notice to the President of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa, calling on it, before a stipulated date, to designate a teacher of law at a faculty of law at a university in the Republic to be a member of the Council as contemplated in section 7(1)(b) of the Act. |
| (12) | The President of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa must, within 14 days after receipt of the notice referred to in subregulation (11), send a notice, by email, to every ordinary member of the Society, calling for nominations of teachers of law for designation to the Council in the vacancy that has occurred. |
| (13) | The notice referred to in subregulation (12) must— |
| (a) | draw the attention of the ordinary members to the provisions of section 7(2) of the Act; and |
| (b) | stipulate a date by which the nominations must be emailed to the President, which date may not be earlier than ten days from the date of the notice. |
| (14) | Any nomination of a teacher of law must be made in a document which provides the following information in respect of the nominee: |
| (a) | His or her name and identity number; |
| (b) | his or her race and gender; |
| (c) | if he or she has a disability and wishes to disclose that fact, a statement to that effect and the nature of the disability; and |
| (d) | his or her knowledge and experience in the matters set out in section 7(2)(e) of the Act. |
| (15) | The nomination document referred to in subregulation (14) must— |
| (a) | be signed by two ordinary members; |
| (b) | be endorsed, over the signature of the nominee named therein, by his or her acceptance of the nomination; |
| (c) | contain the nominee’s confirmation that— |
| (i) | the information given therein is correct; and |
| (ii) | he or she is not disqualified in terms of section 8 of the Act from membership of the Council; and |
| (d) | be sent by email to the President of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa. |
| (16) | If more than one candidate is nominated, the President of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa must, within 14 days after the last day on which nominations were required to be emailed in terms of subregulation (13), send to every ordinary member of the Society, by email, a copy of all the nomination documents and request that ordinary member to vote, by way of an email sent to the President and before a specified date, for one teacher of law for designation to the Council. |
| (17) | After the date on which the nominations were required to be emailed in terms of subregulation (16), the President of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa must — |
| (a) | in the presence of at least one ordinary member of the Society, open the emails sent to him or her and count the votes so received; |
| (b) | retain the received emails for a period of three months after the date referred to in subregulation (13); and |
| (c) | after the three month period, destroy all the emails, unless ordered otherwise by an order of court. |
| (18) | If there is a tie between two or more nominees, which results in there being uncertainty which one has received the most votes, the question must be resolved immediately by lot drawn by the President of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa in the manner determined by him or her and in the presence of at least one ordinary member. |
| (19) | The President of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa must — |
| (a) | cause each candidate to be advised of the result of the voting; and |
| (b) | advise the Council of the particulars of the designated teacher of law. |
| (20) | The first designation of the members of the Council referred to in section 7(1)(b) must be conducted under the authority of the National Forum on the Legal Profession established in terms of section 96(1) of the Act and this regulation will apply, with the necessary changes required by the context, to the process in respect of the first designation. |