| (1) | Despite section 16(1) no proceedings may be instituted in any court unless a presiding officer and one or more clerks are available. |
| (2) | For purposes of giving full effect to this Act and making the Act as accessible as possible— |
| (a) | and in giving effect to subsection (1), judges, magistrates, additional magistrates or magistrates of regional divisions established for the purposes of adjudicating civil disputes, as the case may be, and the clerks referred to in subsection (1) may be – |
| (i) | designated as presiding officers; and |
| (ii) | appointed or designated as clerks, |
respectively, for one or more equality courts;
[Section 31(2)(a) substituted by section 11(a) of Act No. 24 of 2015, GG 39587, dated 8 January 2016]
| (b) | the Minister must make the Act available in all official languages in the prescribed manner within a period of two years after the commencement of this Act. |
| (3) | The Director-General of the Department must take all reasonable steps within the available resources of the Department to ensure that a clerk is available for each court in the Republic. |
| (4) | The South African Judicial Education Institute established in terms of section 3 of the South African Judicial Education Institute Act, 2008 (Act No. 14 of 2008), must develop and implement training courses for presiding officers with a view to building a dedicated and experienced pool of trained and specialised presiding officers, for purposes of presiding in court proceedings as contemplated in this Act, by providing— |
[Words preceding section 31(4)(a) substituted by section 11(b) of Act No. 24 of 2015, GG 39587, dated 8 January 2016]
| (a) | social context training for presiding officers; and |
| (b) | uniform norms, standards and procedures to be observed by presiding officers in the performance of their functions and duties and in the exercise of their powers. |
| (5) | [Section 31(5) deleted by section 11(c) of Act No. 24 of 2015, GG 39587, dated 8 January 2016] |
| (6) | The Director-General of the Department must develop and implement a training course for clerks of equality courts with the view to building a dedicated and experienced pool of trained and specialised clerks, for purposes of performing their functions and duties as contemplated in this Act, by providing— |
| (a) | social context training for clerks; and |
| (b) | uniform norms, standards and procedures to be observed by clerks in the performance of their functions and duties. |
| (7) | [Section 31(7) deleted by section 11(c) of Act No. 24 of 2015, GG 39587, dated 8 January 2016] |
