Under lockdown level 3, if someone travels to Cape Town for work but has to come back to Gauteng for a court case, does he need a permit? And if so, where do I obtain said permit? Scorpion Legal Protection answers.
Under lockdown level 3, the Regulations regarding the movement of people only allows for certain movement between provinces, metropolitan areas, districts and hotspots. Court attendance is not specifically listed. You can view the full government gazette document of who is allowed to move under what restrictions here
In Government Notice 623 of 2020, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola issued specific directions for how court cases can be heard. Only certain issues and cases are being heard in court under alert level 3 – not all cases are being heard by the courts at the moment. If you are directly involved in the case, for example, as the accused person, lawyer, witness, or you have to accompany a child, you are allowed to enter the courtroom. The number of people allowed in a courtroom is being strictly controlled to combat the spread of coronavirus. Minister Lamola has directed that an audiovisual link or teleconference method like Zoom must be used where possible. This means that you do not have to actually go into court if your case is being heard.
There isn’t one clear regulation that explains court attendance, but since the courts are still operating under limited circumstances and mostly for criminal (bail) and urgent matters, we can assume that the same conditions as operational under Level 5 and 4 still apply. Accused persons will have their bail bonds to produce or a letter from the clerk of the court and witnesses have a subpoena. Some people have approached their local police stations to get an affidavit stating their court attendance and dates of travel, etc. These have been accepted by police officials as sufficient reason to be traveling. However, there is no rule on this, and not all court clerks issue letters.
The person in Cape Town needs to communicate with the clerk of the court they are appearing in, so that they can get clarity before the date of appearance.
Tips
- Audiovisual links must be used where possible, which means you do not have to physically be in the courtroom when your case is being heard.
- Only certain cases are being heard by the courts under level 3
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* This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing.