[Rule 17 heading substituted by rule 2(5) of Notice No. R. 203, GG 38557, dated 13 March 2015]
| (1) | Within 5 business days from the date on which an application was found to comply with all formal requirements, the Chairperson must— |
| (a) | [Rule 17(1)(a) deleted by rule 18(1) of Notice No. R. 203, GG 38557, dated 13 March 2015] |
| (b) | [Rule 17(1)(b) deleted by rule 18(1) of Notice No. R. 203, GG 38557, dated 13 March 2015] |
| (3) | Prior to a hearing, the Tribunal may confer with the parties to the matter and may convene a pre-hearing conference. |
[Rule 17(3) substituted by rule 18(2) of Notice No. R. 203, GG 38557, dated 13 March 2015]
| (4) | A pre-hearing conference— |
| (a) | may be in person, by telephone, via video-conferencing or other means of telecommunication; |
| (b) | need not follow any formal procedures; |
| (c) | may be adjourned and re-convened; and |
| (d) | is not open to the public. |
| (5) | At a pre-hearing conference, the presiding member may— |
| (a) | give directions for the clarification or simplification of issues; |
| (b) | obtain admissions of facts or documents; |
| (c) | set the time within which any evidence must be requested, obtained and delivered or preparations for the hearing must be complete; |
[Rule 17(5)(c) substituted by rule 18(3) of Notice No. R. 203, GG 38557, dated 13 March 2015]
| (d) | determine the treatment of confidential information; |
| (e) | determine procedures to be followed at a hearing; |
| (f) | determine the date, time and place of a hearing; or |
| (g) | attend to any other matter that might assist with the proceedings or to resolve the matter. |
| (6) | If the presiding member considers that it would be practical to resolve any point of law before proceeding with a pre-hearing conference, the member may— |
| (a) | direct the Registrar to set down that point of law for adjudication by the Tribunal; and |
[Rule 17(6)(a) substituted by rule 13(1)(a) of Notice 428 of 2011, GG 34405, dated 29 June 2011]
| (b) | may adjourn or postpone the conference pending the outcome of the adjudication on the point of law. |
[Rule 17(6)(b) substituted by rule 13(1)(b) of Notice 428 of 2011, GG 34405, dated 29 June 2011]
| (7) | In any matter which originated as a complaint to the National Credit Regulator, and was referred to the Tribunal in terms of section 137(1), section 140 or section 141(1)(b), the presiding member may direct the National Credit Regulator to investigate or further investigate the matter or to procure specified evidence. |
| (7A) | In any matter which originated as a complaint to the Commission, referred to the Tribunal in terms of section 73, 74 or 75 of the CPA, the presiding member may direct the Commission to investigate or further investigate the matter or to procure further specified evidence. |
[Rule 17(7A) inserted by rule 13(2) of Notice 428 of 2011, GG 34405, dated 29 June 2011]
| (8) | At the conclusion of pre-hearing procedures, the presiding member must— |
| (a) | issue a notice recording any agreements or rulings relating to the matter dealt with; |
| (b) | publish the notice to the parties and file it with the Registrar; and |
| (c) | direct the Registrar to set the matter down for the time and place specified in rule 17(5)(f). |
[Rule 17(8)(c) substituted by rule 18(4) of Notice No. R. 203, GG 38557, dated 13 March 2015]
