Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development on the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B 55 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 75), dated 25 September 2002:
The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, having considered the subject of the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B 55 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill -
1. endorses the classification of the Bill as a section 75 Bill; and
2. presents the Promotion of Access to Information Amendment Bill [B 60 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 75).
The Committee wishes to report further, as follows:
1. The Committee, having taken into account the limited time remaining to deal with draft legislation for the remainder of the 2002 session of Parliament, was of the opinion that it should deal with only one provision of the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill, namely that which entails an amendment to the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000), since the issues involved in that amendment are the same as some of the issues involved in the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Amendment Bill [B 41 - 2002] and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Amendment Bill [B 46 - 2002], which are being finalised by the Committee on an urgent basis. All the said Bills deal with the designation of presiding officers for purposes of court proceedings arising from the application of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000, the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000, and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000.
2. The Committee intends finalising the issues remaining in the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill at a later stage, either during the last quarter of the 2002 session of Parliament or, if needs be, during the 2003 session of Parliament, when the issues and principles contained therein can be debated without any time constraints.