Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014

The Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 was gazetted in GN 740 in Government Gazette 38022 of 22 September 2014.

Relevant documents
Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 (PDF – 366KB)
Government Gazette 38412 of 23 January 2015. (Implementation of Parts 1 and 2 of Chapter 10 – the National Forum on the Legal Profession) (PDF – 344KB)

The National Forum on the Legal Profession

Parts 1 and 2 of Chapter 10 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 (PDF -366KB) came into effect on 1 February 2015.
The implementation was signed by the President on 16 January 2015 and gazetted in Government Gazette 38412 of 23 January 2015 (PDF – 340KB).
Read the advisory (PDF – 88KB) by the Co-Chairpersons of the LSSA (5 February 2015)

What the National Forum must do

View the tasks that the National Forum must perform within 24 months of 1 February 2015 (the Minister may extend the period of 24 months if he or she deems it necessary).

The Minister must, within six months after receiving recommendations from the NF as provided for in s 97(1)(a) of the Act, make regulations by publication in the Gazette, in consultation with the NF, in order to give effect to the recommendations of the NF.
If the NF fails to make recommendations within the timeframe provided for in s 97, the Minister must, within six months, make the regulations in question, after consultation with the NF.

See the LSSA representatives on the National Forum.

The Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014

The proclamation date which will bring into operation the National Forum on the Legal Profession (the transitional body in Chapter 10) has yet to be proclaimed.

Section 120 of the LPA stipulates as follows (our inclusions in parenthesis):
Short title and commencement
120. (1) This Act is called the Legal Practice Act, 2014.
(2) Chapter 10 [the National Forum] comes into operation on a date fixed by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.
(3) Chapter 2 [the Legal Practice Council] comes into operation three years after the date of commencement of Chapter 10 or on any earlier date fixed by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.
(4) The remaining provisions of this Act come into operation on a date, after the commencement of Chapter 2, fixed by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.

The LSSA and the National Forum on the Legal profession

The history of the Legal Practice Act, 2014