Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No. 3 of 2000)Regulations on Fair Administrative Procedures, 2002Chapter 1 : Public InquiriesPart 2: Public hearings11. Commencement of public hearings |
| 1) | An administrator, or a person or panel conducting a public inquiry, must start and complete a public hearing contemplated in section 4(2)(b)(i)(aa) of the Act without unreasonable delay. |
| 2) | An administrator or a person or panel conducting a public inquiry must give notice of the public hearing in at least : |
| a) | a newspaper which is distributed, or in newspapers which collectively are distributed, throughout the Republic, if the administrative action affects the rights of the public throughout the Republic; |
| b) | a newspaper which is distributed, or in newspapers which collectively are distributed, throughout a particular province, if the administrative action affects the rights of the public in that particular province only; or |
| c) | a newspaper which is distributed in a specific area, if the administrative action affects the rights of the public in that specific area only. |
| 3) | A notice published in terms of sub-regulation (2) must : |
| a) | be in at least two of the official languages; |
| b) | if the administrative action affects the rights of the public in a particular province or a specific area, take into account the language preferences and usage in the province or area concerned |
| c) | state particulars of the matter that is being investigated; |
| d) | state the venue of the hearing and the time and date on which the hearing will commence; and |
| e) | invite members of the public to attend the hearing. |
| 4) | In order to ensure that a public hearing is brought to the attention of the public, the administrator or the person or panel conducting that public hearing may, in addition, publicise the information referred to in sub-regulations (2) and (3) by way of communications through the printed or electronic media, including by way of press releases, press conferences, the Internet, radio or television broadcasts, posters or leaflets. |
| 5) | An administrator, or a person or panel conducting a public inquiry, must inform every person who submitted a request for permission to testify or to make oral representations in terms of regulation 3(7) – |
| a) | whether the request has been granted, and if not, the reasons why the request was declined; |
| b) | the venue of the public hearing, and the time and date on which it will commence; and (c) if the request is granted, the date on which that person will be heard. |