South African Human Rights Commission Act, 2013 (Act No. 40 of 2013)NoticesSouth African Human Rights Commission Complaints Handling ProceduresChapter 5 : Investigation of Complaints13. Format and procedure of investigations |
| (1) | Once a complaint is accepted as contemplated in article 12(11), the Provincial Manager, must within seven days of the finding, appoint a Senior Legal Officer or Investigator, depending on the complexity of the matter, to investigate the complaint. |
(2)
| (a) | The Senior Legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be, must, within five days of receipt of the file, contact the complainant to confirm the issues for investigation, explain the role of the Commission, give an indication of the estimated time frame for the investigation and keep a written record of such communication. |
| (b) | The Senior Legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be, must, within seven days of allocation of the matter, request further information from the complainant, if necessary. |
| (c) | If further particulars are requested from the complainant, he or she must, within 14 days from receipt of the request, provide such particulars, whereafter a reminder, in writing, must be sent to the complainant by the Senior Legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be, allowing seven more days for providing such particulars. |
| (d) | If the complainant fails to furnish the requested information within the time frames contemplated in subarticle (2)(c), the Senior legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be, must record such failure and submit a report to the Provincial Manager, recommending that the file be closed, upon approval of which the file must be closed. |
(3)
| (a) | The Senior Legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be, must, within ten days after allocation of the matter or after receipt of further information from the complainant, send a letter to the respondent stating the name of the complainant and providing full details regarding the alleged violation of, or in the case of an own accord investigation, a threat to a fundamental right, and request a response thereto. |
| (b) | The respondent must, within 21 days of receipt of the letter, respond to such letter, and if no response is received, a reminder must be sent to the respondent by the Senior legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be, allowing seven more days for a response. |
| (c) | If the respondent fails to furnish the requested information within the time frames contemplated in paragraph (b), the Senior Legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be, must record such failure and submit the complaint, together with a report and recommendations, to the Provincial Manager for consideration. |
| (d) | The Provincial Manager may make a finding after expiry of the time frames contemplated in paragraph (b) in the absence of a response by the respondent, relying on witness statements. |
| (4) | After receipt of the information contemplated in subarticles (2)(c) and (3)(b), the Senior legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be, must consider the complaint and within seven days of receipt of the final information, submit a report with recommendations to the Provincial Manager. |
| (5) | Unless otherwise determined by the Provincial Manager, the format of an investigation may include the following or any combination thereof— |
| (a) | communication by telephone, e-mail or any other form of correspondence; |
| (b) | research, inspections in loco, fact-finding missions, surveys or questionnaires; |
| (c) | meetings with affected parties or persons reasonably believed to have information relevant to the investigation; or |
| (d) | appearance of a person before the Provincial Manager or any member of staff, as duly designated, for purposes of obtaining or clarifying information (investigation hearing), or to produce any articles or documents as contemplated in section 9(1)(c) of the Act. |
| (6) | During the investigation of the complaint— |
| (a) | the Provincial Manager or any member of staff, as duly designated, may exercise any of the powers referred to in section 9(1)(b) of the Act; |
| (b) | the Senior Legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be may, in consultation with the Provincial Manager, issue a notice to the respondent to attend meetings in pursuance of the investigation and under the hand of a member of the Commission in terms of section 9(1)(c) of the Act; or |
| (c) | any member of the Commission, or any member of staff, as duly designated, or police officer authorised thereto by a member of the Commission, may enter and search any premises and collect any evidence as contemplated in section 10 of the Act. |
| (7) | The Senior Legal Officer or Investigator, as the case may be must keep the complainant informed of the status of his or her complaint on a monthly basis, in writing. |