Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
The Traditional Courts Bill has been tabled in Parliament.
The bill was originally tabled in Parliament in 2008 but was withdrawn in June last year.
It has now been placed before the national council of provinces (NCOP).
According to the bill’s memorandum, it is intended to lay down the framework for the structure and functioning of traditional courts.
The bill aims to:
• Give recognition to the traditional justice system and its values
• Explain how traditional courts are to be set up
• Lay down how they are to operate
• Enhance customary law
The decision to withdraw the bill last year followed public hearings on the bill in 2008.
Submissions had suggested that the bill would be better served if it was processed in the NCOP.
Many issues were raised by interest groups including:
• Designation of traditional leaders as presiding officers
• Low levels of participation by women
• The prevention of legal practitioners to represent practitioners
• Exclusion of structures within traditional justice system
• The appeal mechanism
The explanatory summary of the bill published in the Government Gazette in December 2011 indicated that the select committee on security and constitutional development has committed to taking the comments received during the public hearings in 2008 into account in addition to the submissions arising from their own hearings.
The bill has to be signed into law before the end of the year.
Sabinet Cape Town Office
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