ATC141028: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on the Attorneys Amendment Bill [B9 – 2014], (National Assembly – section 75), dated 28 October 2014

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on the Attorneys Amendment Bill [B9 – 2014], (National Assembly – section 75), dated 28 October 2014

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, having considered the Attorneys Amendment Bill [B9 – 2014] (National Assembly – section 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B9A-2014]

The Committee furthermore reports as follows:

· Although the Bill is a transitional measure, pending the implementation of the Legal Practice Act, the Committee is concerned at the slow pace of transformation generally within the legal profession. The Attorneys Act, 1979, continues to refer to the Law Societies by names that are outdated and reflect South Africa’s colonialist past and are not aligned with the provincial boundaries found in the Constitution. The Law Societies, themselves, no longer use these names. After consultation with the affected societies, the Committee has proposed an amendment that reflects the names that are in use at present.

Report to be considered.