| (1) | A person registered under this Act who, after an inquiry held by the Council, is found guilty of improper or disgraceful conduct, or conduct which, when regard is had to such person’s profession, is improper or disgraceful, is liable to one or more of the following penalties: |
| (a) | A caution or a reprimand or both; |
| (b) | suspension for a specified period from practising or performing acts pertaining to his or her profession; |
| (c) | removal of his or her name from the register; |
| (e) | a period of compulsory community service determined by the Council; |
| (f) | the payment of the costs of the proceedings; or |
| (g) | restitution of any money paid by the complainant to the registered practitioner. |
| (2) | If an appeal is lodged against a penalty of removal of a registered practitioner’s name from the register or suspension from practice, such penalty remains effective until the appeal is heard. |
| (3) | The Council may, subject to such conditions as it determines— |
| (a) | terminate any suspension under subsection (1) before the expiry of the specified period; or |
| (b) | on payment of the prescribed fee, restore to the register any name which has been removed therefrom. |
| (4) | In respect of inquiry proceedings contemplated in section 30, the Council must— |
| (a) | give notice of that inquiry to the person who is the subject of the inquiry; |
| (b) | give an opportunity to that person to either represent himself or herself or to obtain legal representation at the inquiry proceedings; |
| (c) | afford that person an opportunity to state his or her case in response to the allegations. |
| (5) | The Council may, at any inquiry proceedings contemplated in section 30— |
| (a) | take evidence under oath or affirmation; |
| (b) | on the direction of either the registrar or the chairperson of the Council, as the case may be, summon witnesses to give evidence at such proceedings; |
| (c) | require the production of any book, record, document or thing; |
| (d) | through either the chairperson of the Council or the presiding officer at the inquiry, as the case may be, administer an oath to any witness or accept an affirmation from such witness; or |
| (e) | examine any book, record, document or thing which any witness was required to produce at the proceedings. |
| (6) | A summons to appear before the Council as a witness or to produce to it any book, record, document or thing must be— |
| (a) | as nearly as practicable, in the prescribed form; |
| (b) | signed by the chairperson of the Council or the registrar, as the case may be; and |
| (c) | served either by registered letter sent through the post or in the same manner as it would have been served if it had been a subpoena issued by a magistrate’s court. |
| (7) | Any person who, having been summoned— |
| (a) | refuses, or without sufficient cause fails, to attend and give evidence relevant to the inquiry at the time and place specified in the summons; |
| (b) | refuses to take the oath or to make an affirmation when required to do so by the chairperson of the Council or the presiding officer, as the case may be, at the inquiry; or |
| (c) | refuses or fails without sufficient cause to produce any book, record, document or thing which he or she has in terms of the summons been required to produce, |
is guilty of an offence and on conviction liable to any sentence which may be imposed on a witness subpoenaed to give evidence in a civil trial in the High Court who is convicted of a similar offence: Provided that every person so summoned is entitled to all the privileges to which a witness subpoenaed to give evidence before a provincial division of the High Court is entitled.
| (8) | The chairperson of the Council may appoint a person with adequate experience in the administration of justice to be present as an assessor at an inquiry and to advise the Council or the disciplinary committee, as the case may be, on matters of law, procedure or evidence. |
| (9) | If a person registered in terms of this Act (in this section referred to as the accused) is alleged to be guilty of unprofessional conduct and the Council on reasonable grounds is of the opinion that it must impose a fine determined by the Minister in consultation with the Minister of Justice by notice in the Gazette on conviction after an inquiry contemplated in terms of section 30 was held, the Council may issue a summons in the manner prescribed on which an endorsement is made by the Council that the accused may admit that he or she is guilty of the said conduct and that he or she may pay the fine stipulated without appearing at the said inquiry. |
| (10) | Where a summons as contemplated in subsection (9) is issued against an accused in terms of this Act, the accused may, without appearing at an inquiry in terms of section 30, admit to his or her guilt in respect of the conduct referred to in subsection (1) by paying the stipulated fine (in this section referred to as the admission of guilt fine) to the Council before a date specified in the summons. |
| (11) | Any penalty imposed under this section, excluding an admission of guilt fine, must be paid to the Council within 14 days after such imposition. |
| (12) | The imposition of a penalty has the effect of a civil judgment of the magistrate’s court of the district in which the inquiry contemplated in section 30 took place. |
| (13) | The Minister may, on the recommendation of the Council, amend the amount mentioned in subsection (9) by notice in the Gazette. |
