Hon Chairperson, section 9 of our Constitution says that everyone is equal before the law. This means that the rule of law applies as equally to our monarchies as it does to their subjects, to the President as it does to the lowliest of our public servants, to our judges as it does to our magistrates.
When magistrates fall foul of the law, the provision of the Magistrates Act determines that if the Magistrates' Commission recommends that a magistrate be removed from office on account of incapacity to carry out his or her duties of office efficiently, the Minister must suspend that magistrate from office, or, if that magistrate has already been suspended, to confirm such suspension.
A report in which such suspension and the reason therefor are made known, must be tabled in Parliament within the required time period. Parliament must then pass a resolution as to whether or not the restoration to his or her office of the suspended magistrate is recommended. After the resolution has been passed by Parliament, the Minister shall restore the magistrate concerned to his or her office, or remove him or her from office, as the case may be. Once the Magistrates' Commission has recommended that a magistrate be removed from office on the grounds of misconduct, the Minister must suspend that magistrate from office.
In terms of the Magistrates Act, the remuneration of a magistrate is not affected during his or her suspension, unless the commission determines otherwise. Recently, however, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development broke with state policy by ending the practice of continuing to pay magistrates convicted of serious offences. [Applause.] The Justice portfolio committee applauds this stance taken by the hon Minister.
The six magistrates, who are the subject of the report before this House, have committed serious offences, ranging from theft and fraud, sexual harassment, contravention of the Domestic Violence Act by assaulting a spouse with a blunt axe, the abuse of judicial power by summonsing a fellow magistrate to appear before him, being intoxicated whilst on official duty, and attempted murder.
I ask the hon members to refer to the report in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee reports. The report before this House, therefore, reaffirms our commitment to the rule of law. The report also confirms our zero- tolerance approach to crime and our commitment to ensuring that our courts are rid of those persons who are not fit to preside in them. Accordingly, we recommend that the report be adopted by this House. Thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.