Department: Justice and Constitutional Development

From Ms B Lufundo: OFFICE OF THE CHIEF STATE LAW ADVISER

24 August 2007

To: The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Private Members Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions Parliament

FUND FOR VICTIMS OF VILENT CRIME BILL

Comments on the proposed draft Fund for Victims of Violent Crime Bill:

During the last meeting the Committee requested the State Law Advisers to consider the proposed draft Bill and submit written comments before the next meeting.

We have considered the Draft Bill and wish to respond as follows:

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

As it appears in the Long title, the draft Bill seeks to "create a Fund for Victims of Violent Crime; to prescribe the way in which the Fund shall be operated; to define the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Trustees of the Fund; and to lay down the procedures for applications for payments form the Fund.".

As a general observation the draft Bill does not cover the relevant aspects pertaining to the Fund. There are clauses that need to be redrafted and incorporated in order to cover those aspects. Technical amendments also need to be made. We will address these issues in the subsequent discussion.

Ad Clause 2

This clause deals with various issues that need to be dealt with separately. We suggest that the clause should deal with the establishment of the Fund only and it should be given legal status.

If the Fund is going to be a public entity, it must be subjected to the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No.1 of 1994).

Ad Clause 3

This clause needs to be reconsidered. The heading should reflect the content of the provision. A provision should be made to cover the following:

· the timeframes for submission of claims,

· condonation of late submission of claims under certain circumstances,

· guidelines for the granting and rejection of a claim,

· appeals against the decision of the board of Trustees.

In the event of an application being rejected a provision should also be made for furnishing the applicant with reasons.

Ad Clause 4

We recommend that a Board of Trustees of the Fund should be established for the proper and efficient management of the Fund. The clause should provide for the appointment of such Board of Trustees, their terms of office, remuneration, meetings, to mention the few. They should have clear functions and powers.

New Clauses

We recommend that new clauses dealing with the objects of Fund, funding of the Fund, financial control and accountability should be inserted in the Bill.

Please note that these comments are from the drafting perspective. We would therefore recommend that the draft Bill should be submitted to the relevant Directorate within the Department of Justice and Constitutional for their comments or inputs from the policy view point before the Committee can finalise the proposal.

Bongiwe Lufundo / X Mdludlu PRINCIPAL STATE LAW ADVISERS