FOURTH
DRAFT
17/10/2001
POWERS AND IMMUNITIES OF PARLIAMENT AND PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURES BILL
To define and declare certain powers and immunities of Parliament, Provincial
Legislatures, members of the National Assembly, delegates to the National
Council of Provinces and members of provincial legislatures; and to provide for
matters incidental thereto.
[NOTE: PROVINCIAL
LEGISLATURES ADDED]
BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic
of South Africa, as follows:—
INDEX
Section
CHAPTER 1
DEFINITIONS
1. Definitions
CHAPTER 2
PRECINCTS OF
LEGISLATURES
2. Precincts of
Legislature
3. Service of process and arrest of persons within precincts of Legislature
4. Presence of security services in precincts of Legislature
5. Application of Act in case of committee meeting beyond seat of Legislature
CHAPTER 3
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
AND PROCEEDINGS
6 Freedom of speech
and proceedings in Legislature
CHAPTER 4
IMMUNITIES,
INDEPENDENCE AND PROTECTION OF MEMBERS AND LEGISLATURES
7. Immunities
8. Interference with Legislature or members
9. Persons creating disturbance
10. Improper influence of members
11. Matters in which members have direct financial interest
12. Attendance of members before court
13. Giving evidence of proceedings
CHAPTER 5
DISCIPLINARY ACTION
AGAINST MEMBERS FOR CONTEMPT OF LEGISLATURE
14. Conduct
constituting contempt of Legislature
15. Disciplinary action against members for contempt
CHAPTER 6
WITNESSES
16. Attendance
before House or committee
17. Summonsing of witnesses
18. Examination of witnesses
19. Privilege of witnesses
20. Witnesses not liable to legal proceedings
21. Offences relating to witnesses
CHAPTER 7
PUBLICATIONS AND
BROADCASTING
22. Protection in
respect of publications
23. Offences relating to unauthorised publishing
24. Admissibility of journals as evidence
25. Broadcasting and televising of proceedings
CHAPTER 8
GENERAL
26. Financial
arrangements in respect of Legislatures
27. Speaker, Chairperson or committee may act on behalf of House
28. Liability for acts done under authority of Legislature
29. Duty of criminal court in respect of members
30.Offences
31. Repeal of laws
32. Short title
SCHEDULE
LAWS REPEALED (section
31)
CHAPTER 1
DEFINITIONS
Definitions
1. In this Act,
unless the context indicates otherwise—
'Cabinet member' means
a member of the Cabinet referred to in section 91 of the Constitution;
‘Chairperson’ means the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
and, in the absence or incapacity of the Chairperson, the office-bearer acting
as Chairperson;
‘committee’ means a committee or subcommittee consisting of members and
established in accordance with the
standing rules or legislation;
‘House’ means the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces
or a provincial legislature, as the case requires;
‘joint committee’ means a committee consisting of members of both Houses of
Parliament;
‘joint rules’ means the
rules referred to in section 45 of the Constitution;
‘journals’ means any recording of the proceedings of a Legislature or a
committee, including minutes, transcripts and tape recordings;
‘Legislature’ means
Parliament or a provincial legislature;
‘member’, in relation to—
the National Assembly, means a member of the Assembly, and includes a Minister
who is not such a member;
(b) the National Council of Provinces, means—
a permanent delegate to the Council; or
a special delegate to the Council, while acting as a special delegate;
c) a provincial legislature, means a member of the legislature;
‘Parliament’ means the National Assembly or the National Council of
Provinces or
both the Assembly and the Council, as the case requires;
'precincts', in
relation to a Legislature, means the precincts referred to in section 2;
‘police’ means the
South African Police Service;
‘provincial legislature’ means a provincial legislature referred to in
section 104 of the Constitution;
‘Secretary’ means the Secretary to Parliament or the Secretary to a
provincial legislature, as the case requires;
‘Speaker’ means the
Speaker of the National Assembly or the Speaker of a provincial legislature, as
the case requires, and, in the absence or incapacity of the Speaker, the
office-bearer acting as Speaker;
‘staff member’ means the Secretary and any other person appointed to the
staff of a Legislature, whether in a permanent or temporary capacity;
‘standing rules’ means the rules made by the National Assembly, the
National Council of Provinces or a provincial legislature under sections 57, 70
or 116 of the Constitution, respectively, as well as the joint rules;
‘the Constitution’ means the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, 1996.
CHAPTER 2
PRECINCTS OF LEGISLATURES
Precincts of Legislature
2.(1) The precincts of a Legislature
is the area of land and any building or part of a building under the
Legislature’s control, or provided or used for the purposes of the Legislature,
including—
(a) the chambers in which the proceedings of the Legislature are
conducted and the galleries and lobbies of the chambers;
(b) every part of the buildings in which the chambers are situated, and
any forecourt, yard, garden, enclosure or open space appurtenant thereto;
(c) committee rooms and other meeting places provided or used
exclusively for the Legislature’s purposes;
(d )the offices of members and staff members; and
(e). any other building or part of a building provided or used in
connection with the proceedings of the Legislature, while so used.
(2) The Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson, subject to the
standing rules and any directions of Parliament, have the control and
management of the precincts of Parliament.
(3) The Speaker of a provincial legislature, subject to the standing rules and
any directions of the legislature, has the control and management of the
precincts of that legislature.
Service of process and arrest of persons within precincts of Legislature
3. (1) A person
may not within the precincts of a Legislature —
(a).serve or tender for service or
execute any summons, subpoena or other process issued by a court; or
(b).except as authorised by section 4 or
8, arrest another person,
without the
express permission of the Speaker or the Chairperson or a person authorised by
the Speaker or the Chairperson.
(2). A person
who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable to a fine or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.
[OPTION:
Limit application of subclause (1)(a) to actual sitting of a House.]
Presence of
security services in precincts of Legislature
4.(1) Members of the
security services, including the police, may enter upon or remain in or perform
any function in the precincts of a Legislature only with the permission and
under the authority of the Speaker or the Chairperson.
(2) When there
is immediate danger to the life or safety of any person or damage to any
property, members of the security services may without obtaining such
permission enter upon and take action in the precincts of a Legislature in so
far as it is necessary to avert that danger.
Any such action must as soon as possible be reported to the Speaker or
the Chairperson.
Application of Act
in case of committee meeting beyond seat of Legislature
5. In so far as it
may be necessary for the achievement of the objects of this Act in the case of
a committee of a Legislature which performs its functions beyond the seat of
the Legislature, this Act applies as if the premises where the committee meets
for the performance of its functions were within the precincts of the
Legislature.
CHAPTER 3
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND PROCEEDINGS
Freedom of speech and proceedings in Legislature
6.(1) In addition to the freedom of speech provided for in sections 45(2),
58(1)(a), 71(1)(a), 117(1)(a) of the Constitution in
relation to the Houses, committees of the Houses and joint committees,
respectively[1], there is—
(a) freedom of speech in a joint sitting
of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces;
(b) freedom of proceedings in a
Legislature and in committees.
(2) The freedom of
speech and proceedings provided for in subsection (1) and sections 45(2),
58(1), 71(1) and 117(1) of the Constitution may not be challenged or questioned
in any court or place outside the Legislature concerned.
(3) Subsection (2)
applies only to—
(a) in the case of a joint sitting of
the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, Cabinet members,
members of the National Assembly and delegates to the National Council of
Provinces;
(b) in the case of a House or a
committee, the persons who have freedom of speech in terms of section 45(2),
58(1), 71(1) or 117(1), respectively, of the Constitution.
[OPTION: Set out constitutional provisions in text,
instead of footnote.]
(4) Despite
subsection (1) a court may enquire into the proceedings of a Legislature or a
committee in so far as it is necessary for the purposes of this Act.
[NOTE: Subclauses (3) and (4) of the previous draft
have been omitted, as suggested by Prof Murray and "agreed" at the
workshop. The matter concerned should
be dealt with in the standing rules.]
(5) For the purposes of
this section, "proceedings" means all communications or actions in
the course of, or for the purposes of or incidental to, the formal meetings,
and the transaction of the business, of a Legislature or a committee and,
without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes—
(a) the giving of evidence or the making of a presentation before a
Legislature or a committee;
(b) the presentation or submission of a document to a Legislature or a
committee;
(c) the preparation of a document for the purposes of or incidental to
the transaction of any such business;
and
(d) the formulation, making or publication of a document, including a
report, by or pursuant to an order of a Legislature or a committee.
CHAPTER 4
IMMUNITIES,
INDEPENDENCE AND PROTECTION OF MEMBERS AND LEGISLATURES
Immunities
7. The persons who
have freedom of speech in a Legislature in terms of the Constitution or section
6 are not liable to civil or criminal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment or
damages for—
(a) anything that they have said in,
produced before or submitted to a Legislature or a committee, including any
petition, bill, report, resolution or motion;
(b) the preparation of any document for
the purposes of paragraph (a); or
(c) anything revealed as a result of
anything that they have said in, produced before or submitted to a Legislature
or a committee.
[OPTION: Make provision only in relation to joint
sittings (which are not covered in the Constitution), and refer in a footnote
to the relevant provisions of the Constitution that already cover this aspect
in respect of meetings of the Houses and committees, as follows:[2]
Interference with
Legislature or members
8. A person may not—
(a) improperly interfere with the free exercise by a Legislature or a
committee of its authority, or with the free performance by a member of his or
her functions as a member;
(b) threaten, obstruct or insult a
member proceeding to or going from a meeting of a Legislature or a committee;
(c) assault, threaten or insult a
member, or deprive a member of any benefit, on account of the member's conduct
in a Legislature or a committee;
(d) while a Legislature or a committee
is meeting, create or take part in any disturbance within the precincts of the
Legislature, whereby the proceedings of the Legislature or a committee are or
are likely to be disrupted; or
(e) contravene an instruction by a duly
authorised staff member regarding the presence of persons at a particular
meeting or regarding the possession of any article, including a firearm, in the
precincts of a Legislature or any part thereof.
Persons creating
disturbance
9. A person who
creates or takes part in any disturbance in the precincts of a Legislature
while the Legislature or a committee is meeting may be arrested and removed
from the precincts, on the order of the Speaker or the Chairperson or a person
designated by the Speaker or Chairperson, by a staff member or a member of the
police.
[OPTION: Specify
circumstances in which a member will be regarded to be creating a
disturbance.]
Improper influence
of members
10.(1) A person may
not by fraud, intimidation, force, insult or threat of any kind, by the offer
or promise of any inducement or benefit of any kind, or by other improper
means—
(a) influence a member in the
performance of the member's functions as a member,
(b) induce a member to be absent from a
Legislature or a committee; or
(c) attempt to compel a member to
declare himself or herself in favour of or against any proposition or matter
pending or expected to be brought before a Legislature or a committee.
(2) A member may
not ask for, receive or obtain any bribe, fee, compensation, gift, reward or benefit for the member or another person—
a) on the
understanding that the member will be influenced in the performance of the
member's functions or in
b) for or in
respect of the promotion or opposition to anything, including a bill, motion,
report, matter or rule, submitted or proposed or intended to be submitted to or
brought before a Legislature or a committee for consideration.
[NOTE: Part of
clause 18 in previous draft has been incorporated in subclause (2).
OPTION: Make provision for exceptions, eg.
that members may receive payment for writing a newspaper article in favour of
or against a bill.]
Matters in which
members have direct financial interest
11.(1) Subject to
subsection (3), a member may not in or before a Legislature or a committee
vote, or take part in the discussion of, any matter in which the member has a
direct financial interest.
(2) A member who
contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable to a fine not
exceeding R5 000.
(3) Subsection
(1) does not apply to—
(a) any vote or discussion in connection
with the remuneration or allowances to be received by members in their capacity
as members; or
(b) an interest in a matter which a
member has in common with the public generally, or with any category or section
of the public.
Attendance of members
before court
12.(1) In any
civil proceedings in a court that is situated outside the seat of a Legislature
in which a member is required to attend as a witness or defendant, the Speaker
or the Chairperson or a person designated by the Speaker or Chairperson may
issue a certificate stating that the member is required to attend to important
business in the Legislature, and that certificate shall be sufficient proof of
such requirement, and the member shall be absolved from attending pending
completion of that business.
(2) Such a
certificate may be issued only if the member is required in a Legislature on
important legislative business.
(3) The standing
rules must prescribe the circumstances in which legislative business will be
considered important for the purposes of this section.
[OPTIONS: (a) Leave
clause as is.
(b) At the request of a
member, the Presiding Officer has a discretion to issue a certificate (no other
requirements).
(c) At the request of a
member, the Presiding Officer has a discretion to issue a certificate, but must
be appraised of all facts.
(d) Delete clause in
its entirety.]
Giving evidence of
proceedings
13.(1) No member
or staff member, and no person employed or contracted by a Legislature to take
minutes of evidence given before the Legislature or a committee, may give
evidence elsewhere regarding the contents of the minutes or the evidence given
or of any document before the Legislature or a committee, without first having
obtained the leave of the House concerned.
(2) During a
recess or adjournment of a House the Speaker or the Chairperson or a person
designated by the Speaker or Chairperson may give such leave.
[OPTIONS:
(a) Delete clause in
its entirety. This would seem to be the
advisable option, since the purpose and value of this provision is doubtful,
given that most meetings are open to the public and some are broadcast/
televised over national/ international media.
(b) Extend clause to
prohibit all persons (and not only members and staff) to give evidence "elsewhere",
without permission of the relevant Presiding Officer. This might be challengeable in so far as its purported effect
might be to prevent a court from hearing relevant evidence. Evidence before a court will be essential to
implement those provisions of the Bill creating criminal offences.
(c) Leave clause as it
stands if it is considered necessary for the purposes of control by a
Legislature over its staff and members.]
CHAPTER 5
DISCIPLINARY ACTION
AGAINST MEMBERS FOR CONTEMPT OF LEGISLATURE
Conduct
constituting contempt of legislature
14. A member of a
Legislature is guilty of contempt of that Legislature if the member—
(a) wilfully fails or refuses to obey
any rule, order or resolution of the Legislature;
(b) contravenes section 8 or 10 in respect of the Legislature or its
members;
(c) commits an act which is intended to
bring the Legislature in disrepute or to impede the functioning of the
Legislature or a committee of the Legislature;
or
(d) commits an act which in terms of the
standing rules constitutes contempt of the Legislature.
[OPTION: Add:
Par (e), as follows
(e) deliberately
misleads the Legislature.]
Disciplinary action
against members for contempt
15.(1) Subject to
the Constitution and this Act, a House has all the powers which are necessary
for enquiring into and pronouncing upon any act, matter or thing declared in
this Chapter to be contempt of a Legislature by a member, and taking the
disciplinary action provided therefore.
(2) A House must
appoint a standing committee to deal with all enquiries in terms of subsection
(1).
(3) Before a
House may take any disciplinary action against a member for contempt, the
standing committee—
(a) must investigate the matter in
accordance with a fair administrative procedure within the meaning of section 3
of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No. 3 of 2000); and
(b) table a report on its findings and
recommendations in the House.
(4) If a House
finds a member guilty of contempt of a Legislature, the member may in addition
to any other penalty to which he or she is liable under this Act or any other
law—
(a) be cautioned or reprimanded
(b) be fined an amount not exceeding R5
000; or
(c) be suspended for a period not
exceeding 30 working days, as defined in the relevant standing rules, whether
or not a House or any committee is scheduled to meet during that period.
(5) All fines
payable under subsection (4)(b) may be recovered—
(a) by deducting specified instalments
from the members’ remuneration; or
(b) if not so recovered, by means of
civil action in a competent court.
(6) All fines
under subsection (4)(b) which are paid or recovered must be paid into
the bank account of the Legislature concerned.
(7) A member who
has been suspended under subsection (4)(c) must leave the precincts of
the Legislature, and may not, during the period of suspension—
(a) enter the precincts for whatever
purpose;
(b) make use of travel or any other
facilities provided to members by the Legislature.
(8) The
suspension of a member under subsection (4)(c) does not affect that
member’s remuneration as a member in terms of the Remuneration of Public Office
Bearers Act, 1998 (Act No. 20 of 1998).
[OPTION: Replace
sub-clause 8 with:
(8) A member who is
suspended under sub-clause (4)(c) or the standing rules is not entitled to any
remuneration as a member for the period of the suspension.]
(9) Subject to the
Constitution, a House does not have the power to expel a member from membership
of the House.
(10) This
section does not affect the power—
(a) of a person presiding at a meeting
of a Legislature or a committee, to take reasonable steps to maintain order in
the meeting, including the removal from the meeting of a person who acts in a
disorderly or disruptive manner; or
(b) the Speaker or Chairperson under the
standing rules, to censure a member who deliberately disregards the authority
of the person presiding at such a meeting, or acts in a disorderly or
disruptive manner.
CHAPTER 6
WITNESSES
Attendance before
House or committee
16. A House or any
committee may request or summons any person to appear before it to give
evidence or to produce any document in his or her possession or custody or
under his or her control.
[OPTION: (
a) Omit clause and
refer in footnote to relevant provisions of the Constitution that authorise
persons to be summonsed.
(b) Make provision that a member of a
Legislature may not attend before another legislature without the permission of
the House of which he/she is a member.]
Summonsing of witnesses
17.(1) A summons
in terms of section 16 must be issued by the Secretary on the instructions of—
(a) the Speaker or the Chairperson; or
(b) the chairperson of a committee,
acting in accordance with a resolution of the committee.
[OPTION:
Provide, as in existing legislation, that permission of the Speaker or
Chairperson must be obtained for the issuing of a summons.]
(2) The summons must
state—
(a) the name of the person summonsed;
(b) the name or designation of the
person who must serve the summons;
(c) the time, place and venue at which
the person summonsed is required to appear;
(d) the subject of the enquiry;
(e) the purpose for which the evidence
of that person is required; and
(f) a description of the document, if
any, which that person is required to produce.
(3) The summons
must be served on the person mentioned therein by delivering a copy of the
summons—
(a) to that person; or
(b) at that person’s usual or last known
place of residence or of employment or business, to a person apparently over
the age of 18 years and apparently residing or employed there.
[OPTION:
(a) Delete paragraph
(b), i.e. personal service would be required.
(b) Provide for
alternative method of summonsing, e.g. notice in newspaper.]
(4) A person
summonsed in terms of this section, other than a person in the full-time
employment of the state or an organ of the state, is entitled to be paid an
amount for his or her expenses as approved by the Speaker or Chairperson in
accordance with the standing rules.
Examination of
witnesses
18. When a House or
a committee requires that anything be verified or otherwise ascertained by the
oral examination of a witness, the person presiding at the enquiry may—
(a) call upon and administer an oath to,
or accept an affirmation from, any person present at the enquiry who was or
could have been summonsed in terms of section 21; and
(b) examine any person referred to in
paragraph (a) or require that person to produce any document in that
person’s possession or custody or under his or her control which may have a
bearing on the subject of the enquiry.
[OPTION:
(a) Insert provision
that witness must be informed of rights and obligations in terms of this Act..
(b) Make specific
provision that witness may speak without having been sworn or affirmed.]
Privilege of witnesses
19. In connection
with the examination of any person by, or the production of any document
before, a House or a committee in terms of section 22, the law relating to
privilege, as applicable to a witness summonsed to give evidence or to produce
a document before the High Court of South Africa applies.
Witnesses
not liable to legal proceedings
20.(1) Except in
the case of perjury or any offence under section 30, a witness who is in
possession of a certificate referred to in subsection (2) is not liable to any
civil or criminal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment or damages by reason of
anything relevant to the subject of the enquiry concerned, revealed or said by
the witness in the course of giving evidence before a House or a committee.
(2) If a witness has answered fully and
satisfactorily all questions put to the witness by a House or a committee,
whether or not under oath or affirmation, the witness is, at his or her
request, entitled to receive a certificate signed by the person presiding at
the enquiry, stating that the witness did so answer all questions.
[OPTION:
(a) Restrict sub-clause
(2) to witness giving evidence under oath or affirmation.
(b) Provide that if
person who presided at the meeting is not available the Speaker or the Chairperson
may issue the certificate, after examination of the record of the proceedings
concerned.
(c) Provide that
certificate must be issued automatically in all appropriate circumstances.]
Offences relating
to witnesses
21(1) A person
who—
(a) has been duly summonsed in terms of
section 17 and who fails, without sufficient cause—
(i) to attend at
the time and place specified in the summons; or
(ii) to remain
in attendance until excused from further attendance by the person presiding at
the enquiry;
(b) has been called upon under section
18(a) and who refuses to be sworn in or to make an affirmation as a
witness; or
(c) fails, without sufficient cause—
(i) to answer
fully and satisfactorily any question lawfully put to him or her under section
18(b); or
(ii) to produce
any document in his or her possession or custody or under his or her control
which he or she has been required to produce under section 18(b),
commits an
offence and is liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding
12 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.
(2) A person
who—
(a) threatens, obstructs or in any way
unduly influences another person in respect of evidence to be given before a
Legislature or a committee;
(b) induces another person to refrain
from giving evidence to or producing a document before a Legislature or a
committee;
(c) assaults or penalises or threatens
another person, or deprives that person of any benefit, on account of the
giving or proposed giving of evidence before a Legislature or a committee;
(d) with intent to deceive a Legislature
or a committee, produces to a Legislature or the committee any false, untrue,
fabricated or falsified document; or
(e) whether or not under oath or
affirmation, wilfully furnishes a Legislature or a committee with information,
or makes a statement before it, which is false or misleading,
commits an
offence and is liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding
two years or both the fine and imprisonment.
CHAPTER 7
PUBLICATIONS AND
BROADCASTING
Protection in respect of publications
22.(1) No person is liable to civil or criminal proceedings in respect
of the publication of—
(a) any report, paper or minutes of a Legislature or a committee by
order or under the authority of a Legislature or a committee; or
(b) any extract from or abstract of any report, paper or minutes of a
Legislature or a committee if such extract or abstract was published in good
faith and without malice.
(2) No member or staff
member is liable to civil or criminal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment or
damages in respect of the publication to a member of a document that has been
submitted to or is before a Legislature or a committee.
Offences relating
to unauthorised publishing
23. No person may publish—
(a) any document if the publication of that document is prohibited by
or in terms of the standing rules or an order or a resolution of a House;
[NOTE:
This paragraph will
override the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000, which provides that
information must be disclosed unless one of the exceptions listed in that Act
is applicable.]
(b) any document purporting that such
document has been printed under the authority of a Legislature, a committee,
the Speaker or the Chairperson, while it has not been published under such authorisation;
or
(c) any document purporting that such
document is a verbatim account of proceedings of a Legislature or a committee,
well knowing that it is not such an account.
[OPTION:
Delete paragraph (c),
as suggested by Prof Murray;]
Admissibility of
journals as evidence
24. In any
proceedings before a court or any other tribunal in which the proceedings of a
Legislature are relevant, a copy of the journals printed or purporting to have
been printed by order of a Legislature or the Speaker or Chairperson, is
admissible as evidence of the journals without any proof being given that the
copy was so printed.
Broadcasting and
televising of proceedings
25.(1) No person may
broadcast or televise any part of the proceedings of a Legislature or of a
committee except by the authority of the Speaker or Chairperson and in
accordance with the conditions, if any, determined by the Speaker or
Chairperson.
(2) No person is
liable to civil or criminal proceedings for broadcasting, re-broadcasting or televising
any part of the proceedings of a Legislature if it has been duly authorised
under subsection (1).
CHAPTER 8
GENERAL
Financial arrangements
in respect of Legislatures
26. The control of
the expenditure and the appropriation of moneys for the services of a
Legislature is vested in the Speaker and the Chairperson, and their
authorisation for such expenditure and appropriation of moneys is, subject to
the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999), in all respects
good, valid and effectual.
Speaker,
Chairperson or committee may act on behalf of House
27.(1) Subject to
the standing rules, a House may authorise the Speaker, the Chairperson or a
committee to perform any act which may be performed by a House under this Act.
(2) For the purposes
of performing an act referred to in subsection (1), the Speaker, Chairperson or
committee has the powers with which a House is vested in terms of this Act for
the performance of that act.
[OPTION:
(a) Delete clause in
its entirety, it is of doubtful value.
(b) Delete the
references to the Speaker and Chairperson, i.o.w. restrict delegation of
authority to committee.]
Liability for acts done
under authority of Legislature
28. No person is
liable in damages or otherwise for any act done in good faith in terms of this
Act, or under the authority of a Legislature or a committee and within the
legal powers of a Legislature or a committee or under any warrant or summons
issued by virtue of those powers.
Duty of criminal
court in respect of members
29. When a
member of the National Assembly or of a provincial legislature or a permanent
delegate to the National Council of Provinces has been convicted of an offence
and sentenced to more than 12 months' imprisonment without the option of a
fine—
(a) the registrar of the court
sentencing that person must in writing inform the Speaker or the Chairperson,
as the case requires, of the nature of the offence and the sentence
imposed; and
(b) if an appeal is noted against such a
sentence, the registrar of the court hearing the appeal must in writing inform the Speaker or the Chairperson, as
the case requires, of the noting of the appeal and of the outcome thereof.
Offences
30.(1) A person who—
(a) contravenes section 23; or
(b) performs any act which is intended
to bring a Legislature in disrepute or to impede the functioning of a
Legislature or a committee,
commits an
offence and is liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding
three years or to both the fine and the imprisonment.
(2) A person
who—
(a) contravenes section 8, 10 or 25(1);
or
(b) hinders or obstructs a staff member
in the execution of his or her duty or while proceeding to or going from a
Legislature in the course of or in connection with the staff member's official
duties,
commits an
offence and is liable to a fine or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months or to both the fine
and the imprisonment.
Repeal of laws
31. The laws
mentioned in the Schedule are repealed to the extent specified in the third
column.
Short title
32. This Act is
called the Powers and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act,
2001.
[OPTION:
Use the wording of the
Constitution namely "Privileges and Immunities".]
SCHEDULE
LAWS REPEALED (section
31)
No.
and year of law |
Short title |
Extent
of repeal |
Act No.
91 of 1963 |
Powers
and Privileges of Parliament Act, 1963 |
The whole |
Act No.
62 of 1967 |
Powers
and Privileges of Parliament Amendment Act, 1967 |
The whole |
Act No.
33 of 1974 |
Parliamentary
Service Act, 1974 |
Sections
13,14,15,16,17 and 18 |
Act No.
95 of 1984 |
Powers
and Privileges of Parliament Amendment Act, 1984 |
The whole |
Act No.
99 of 1985 |
Powers
and Privileges of Parliament Amendment Act, 1985 |
The whole |
Act No.
98 of 1992 |
Powers
and Privileges of Parliament Amendment Act, 1992 |
The whole |
[1] In terms of the Constitution, the following persons have freedom of speech in the respective Legislatures and committees:
(a) In the National Assembly; Cabinet members and members of the Assembly (section 58(1));
(b) in the National Council of Provinces; Cabinet members, Deputy Ministers, delegates to the Council, officials of the national executive referred to in section 66(2) of the Constitution, and the local government representatives referred to in section 67 of the Constitution (section 71(1));
(c) joint committees; Cabinet members, members of the National Assembly and delegates to the National Council of Provinces (section 45);
(d) in a provincial legislature; members of that legislature and the province's permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces (section 117(1)).
[2] Sections 58(1), 71(1) and 117(1) of the Constitution provide that the persons who have freedom of speech in a Legislature and committees in terms of those sections are not liable to civil or criminal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment or damages for—
(i) anything that they have said in produced before or submitted to the relevant Legislature or any of its committees; or
(ii) anything revealed as a result of anything that they have said in, produced before or submitted to the Legislature or any of its committees.