To declare or not to declare?

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma is expected to issue a statement tomorrow regarding the controversy over the declaration of his interests. “By Wednesday morning, a statement will be issued on behalf of the president in relation to exactly what the position would be,” said Michael Hulley, one of the lawyers working “generally” on the matter. This followed a report, and confirmation by Zuma’s office, that he did not declare his interests after taking office last year.

The opposition DA, who believe this violated Section 5 of the Executive Ethics Code, said they would ask the Public Protector to investigate.

Zuma’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Zuma had been waiting for clarification from his legal team, as there had been a difference of opinion in his office on whether he had to declare his interests or not. “People should also appreciate that while the president has been waiting for clarification from the legal team, he has also instructed that a submission be prepared for purposes of declaration in the event that it was found that he has to declare,” Magwenya said.

A preamble signed by Zuma when he was acting president in 2000 reads: “In terms of section 2 (1) of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act, 1998 (Act No. 82 of 1998), I hereby, after consultation with Parliament, publish the Executive Ethics Code with which Members of the Cabinet, Deputy Ministers and Members of Provincial Executive Councils must comply in performing their official responsibilities.”

Source: The Sowetan

SOUTH AFRICAN JUDICIAL EDUCATION INSTITUTE ACT 14 OF 2008

The purpose of the SOUTH AFRICAN JUDICIAL EDUCATION INSTITUTE ACT 14 OF 2008, is to establish a South African Judicial Education Institute in order to promote the independence, impartiality, dignity, accessibility and effectiveness of the courts by providing judicial education for judicial officers; to provide for the administration and management of the affairs of that Institute and for the regulation of its activities; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

SINCE the need for education and training of judicial officers, whether aspirant, newly appointed or experienced, has long been recognised and that principle is practiced and entrenched in most judicial systems around the world;

AND SINCE there is a need for the education and training of judicial officers in a quest for enhanced service delivery and the rapid transformation of the judiciary;

AND SINCE the law has become much more complex and varied, develops rapidly and is increasingly influenced by the globalisation of legal systems, trade, technology, new insights and challenges;

AND SINCE education and training of judicial officers are necessary to uphold judicial independence, on the one hand, and to facilitate judicial accountability, on the other, and both are indispensable requirements of a judiciary in a functioning democracy;

AND SINCE it is desirable that the education and training of judicial officers should primarily be directed and controlled by the judiciary;

AND SINCE section 180(a) of the Constitution provides that national legislation may provide for training programmes for judicial officers,

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:-

Source: Sabinet

PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AGAINST TERRORIST AND RELATED ACTIVITIES ACT 33 OF 2004

The purpose of the PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AGAINST TERRORIST AND RELATED ACTIVITIES ACT 33 OF 2004 is to provide for measures to prevent and combat terrorist and related activities; to provide for an offence of terrorism and other offences associated or connected with terrorist activities; to provide for Convention offences; to give effect to international instruments dealing with terrorist and related activities; to provide for a mechanism to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolutions, which are binding on member States, in respect of terrorist and related activities; to provide for measures to prevent and combat the financing of terrorist and related activities; to provide for investigative measures in respect of terrorist and related activities; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS the Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy where fundamental human rights, such as the right to life and free political activity, are constitutionally enshrined;

AND WHEREAS terrorist and related activities, in whichever form, are intended to achieve political and other aims in a violent or otherwise unconstitutional manner, and thereby undermine democratic rights and values and the Constitution;

AND WHEREAS terrorist and related activities are an international problem, which can only be effectively addressed by means of international co-operation;

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Republic of South Africa has committed itself in international fora such as the United Nations, the African Union and the Non-Aligned Movement, to the prevention and combating of terrorist and related activities;

AND WHEREAS the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373/2001, which is binding on all Member States of the United Nations, as well as the Convention for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, adopted by the Organisation of African Unity, requires Member States to become Party to instruments, dealing with terrorist and related activities, as soon as possible;

AND WHEREAS the Republic of South Africa has already become Party to the following instruments of the United Nations:

(a) The Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963. The Republic became a Party thereto, by accession on 26 May 1972;

(b) the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 30 May 1972;

(c) the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, concluded at Montreal on 23 September 1971. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 30 May 1972;

(d) the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons including Diplomatic Agents, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 14 December 1973. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 23 September 2003;

(e) the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 17 December 1979. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 23 September 2003;

(f) the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, adopted at Montreal on 24 February 1988. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 21 September 1998;

(g) the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection, signed at Montreal on 1 March 1991. The Republic became a Party thereto by accession on 1 December 1999;

(h) the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 15 December 1997. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 1 May 2003; and

(i) the International Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1999. The Republic became a Party thereto by ratification on 1 May 2003;

AND WHEREAS the Republic of South Africa desires to become a Party to the following remaining instruments of the United Nations, not yet ratified or acceded to by the Republic:

(a) The Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, adopted at Rome on 10 March 1988;

(b) the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms on the Continental Shelf, adopted at Rome on 10 March 1988; and

(c) the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, adopted at Vienna on 26 October 1979, and signed on behalf of the Republic on 18 May 1981;

AND WHEREAS the Republic of South Africa has become a Party by ratification, on 7 November 2002, to the Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, adopted by the Organisation of African Unity at Algiers on 14 July 1999;

AND WHEREAS the United Nations Security Council from time to time passes resolutions under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, requiring Member States to combat terrorist and related activities, including taking effective measures to prevent and combat the financing of terrorist and related activities, and the freezing of funds, assets or economic resources of persons who commit terrorist and related activities;

AND WHEREAS our national laws do not meet all the international requirements relating to the prevention and combating of terrorist and related activities;

AND WHEREAS international law, and in particular international humanitarian law, including the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the said Charter recognizes acts committed in accordance with such international law during a struggle waged by peoples, including any action during an armed struggle, in the exercise or furtherance of their legitimate right to national liberation, self-determination and independence against colonialism, or occupation or aggression or domination by alien or foreign forces, as being excluded from terrorist activities;

AND REALISING the importance to enact appropriate domestic legislation necessary to implement the provisions of relevant international instruments dealing with terrorist and related activities, to ensure that the jurisdiction of the courts of the Republic of South Africa enables them to bring to trial the perpetrators of terrorist and related activities; and to co-operate with and provide support and assistance to other States and relevant international and regional organisations to that end;

AND MINDFUL that the Republic, has since 1994, become a legitimate member of the community of nations and is committed to bringing to justice persons who commit such terrorist and related activities; and to carrying out its obligations in terms of the international instruments dealing with terrorist and related activities, [the act is therefore promolgated].

RECOGNITION OF CUSTOMARY MARRIAGES ACT 120 OF 1998

To make provision for the recognition of customary marriages; to specify the requirements for a valid customary marriage; to regulate the registration of customary marriages; to provide for the equal status and capacity of spouses in customary marriages; to regulate the proprietary consequences of customary marriages and the capacity of spouses of such marriages; to regulate the dissolution of customary marriages; to provide for the making of regulations; to repeal certain provisions of certain laws; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

The spouses of a customary marriage have a duty to ensure that their marriage is registered. Customary marriages must be registered within a period of three months after the conclusion of the marriage or within such longer period as the Minister may from time to time prescribe by notice in the Gazette.

Source: Sabinet

PROMOTION OF EQUALITY AND PREVENTION OF UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION ACT 4 OF 2000

The purpose of the PROMOTION OF EQUALITY AND PREVENTION OF UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION ACT is to give effect to section 9 read with item 23 (1) of Schedule 6 to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, so as to prevent and prohibit unfair discrimination and harassment; to promote equality and eliminate unfair discrimination; to prevent and prohibit hate speech; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

Preamble

The consolidation of democracy in our country requires the eradication of social and economic inequalities, especially those that are systemic in nature, which were generated in our history by colonialism, apartheid and patriarchy, and which brought pain and suffering to the great majority of our people;

Although significant progress has been made in restructuring and transforming our society and its institutions, systemic inequalities and unfair discrimination remain deeply embedded in social structures, practices and attitudes, undermining the aspirations of our constitutional democracy;

The basis for progressively redressing these conditions lies in the Constitution which, amongst others, upholds the values of human dignity, equality, freedom and social justice in a united, non-racial and non-sexist society where all may flourish;

South Africa also has international obligations under binding treaties and customary international law in the field of human rights which promote equality and prohibit unfair discrimination. Among these obligations are those specified in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;

Section 9 of the Constitution provides for the enactment of national legislation to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination and to promote the achievement of equality;

This implies the advancement, by special legal and other measures, of historically disadvantaged individuals, communities and social groups who were dispossessed of their land and resources, deprived of their human dignity and who continue to endure the consequences;

This Act endeavours to facilitate the transition to a democratic society, united in its diversity, marked by human relations that are caring and compassionate, and guided by the principles of equality, fairness, equity, social progress, justice, human dignity and freedom.

Source: SABINET

EXECUTIVE MEMBERS’ ETHICS ACT 82 OF 1998

To provide for a code of ethics governing the conduct of members of the Cabinet, Deputy Ministers and members of provincial Executive Councils; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, 1996

The purpose of the CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA ACT is to introduce a new Constitution for the Republic of South Africa and to provide for matters incidental thereto.

Preamble

We, the people of South Africa,

• Recognise the injustices of our past;

• Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;

• Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and

• Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to -

• Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;

• Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;

• Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and

• Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.

May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.

Source: SABINET