ZA Now, 20 December 1996
Justice dept announces 1997 legislative programme
(extract)
THURSDAY 5.00PM: THE Department of Justice this morning announced that it has prioritised eight Bills to be put through Parliament in the next session. The new laws include legislation deleting all references to corporal and capital punishment from the statute book, increasing the penal jurisdiction of lower courts, and a prohibition on military training by non-government institutions.
Other urgent Bills to go before the first session of Parliament next year include laws deracialising the former black divorce courts, establishing a national prosecutorial authority, and creating an office for witness protection. The department added that it hopes to pass 17 other, less urgent, laws next year, including legislation governing the payment of judges, establishing family courts, rationalising provincial and local divisions of the supreme court, and setting up a compensation fund for victims of crime.
"The promulgation of this legislation will bring our statutory law in line with the demands of an ever-changing society and will provide a more accessible justice system," the department said in a statement.
Follow-up: 26 March 1997 - Child beatings banned by new law
