Question NW1076 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
29 June 2021 - NW1076
Breytenbach, Adv G to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
(a)(i) What is the precise nature of the contractual dispute between his Department of Justice and Lexis Nexis to which the Deputy Director-General of his Department of Justice referred to on 12 March 2021 when he informed the department of the unavailability of the online Lexis Nexis publications and (ii) by what date is it expected to be resolved, (b) what contingencies are in place to assist them until the matter is resolved and (c) how are court officials particularly expected to function fully without such access?
Reply:
a) (i) The dispute between LexisNexis and the Department is with regard to the interpretation of clause 12.19 of RFB 2019 03 which requires the service provider to provide a shared one license accessible from all domains (DOJ&CD, OCJ, Constitutional Court, Legal Aid SA, NPA, The Public Protector and the Special Investigating Unit) for online (internet) services.
LexisNexis interpreted clause 12.19 of the bid to require a shared license from all domains which in their view is different from a concurrent user access which is attached to a domain.
The Department’s interpretation is that clause 12.19 of the bid required a shared one license accessible from all domains for online (internet) services which was clearly explained during the briefing session (question and answer session) to mean a concurrent user access attached to a domain. These questions and answers were provided by the Department in writing to all the bidders including LexisNexis.
(ii) The Department engaged with LexisNexis on the 12 March 2021 and urged them to restore the services and the services were restored on the same date.
b) The services were restored with immediate effect and there was no need for any contingencies.
c) The services were restored with immediate effect and officials have access.