South Africa - Central Authority (Art. 2) and practical information
Central Authority(ies):
Director-General
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
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Contact details: |
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| Address: | Director-General Department of Justice and Constitutional Development Private Bag X81 Pretoria 0001 South Africa Street Address: Momentum Centre, 329 Pretorius Street (c/o Pretorius and Sisulu Streets), Pretoria, South Africa |
| Telephone: | 0123151261 |
| Fax: | |
| E-mail: | MaLeso@justice.gov.za |
| General website: | https://www.justice.gov.za/ |
| Contact person: | Mr Malesela Leso |
| Languages spoken by staff: | English |
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Practical Information |
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| Blocking statutes: | No blocking statute in force. |
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Chapter I |
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| Transmission of Letters of Requests: | Letters of Request are first sent to the Central Authority or to another authority of the requesting State before being sent to the Central Authority of the requested State. |
| Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): |
Central Authority. |
| Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): | Declaration of applicability. See Competent Authority. |
| Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): |
No declaration of applicability. |
| Translation requirements Arts 4(2) and 33): |
Accepts Letters of Requests written in or translated into English. For the purposes of paragraph 4 of Article 4 of the Convention, a Letter of Request, if not in English, may also be sent to the Central Authority in any of the following languages: Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu. |
| Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): |
South Africa has not sought reimbursement of costs under Art. 14(2) and 26. |
| Time for execution: | No information available. |
| Pre-trial discovery of documents Art. 23): |
Letter of Request will not be executed (full exclusion). |
| Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence: | Section 33 of the Supreme Court Act 59 of 1959. |
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Witness examination under Chapter I |
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| Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? | Specific questions are required. |
| Is it a public or private hearing? | Either public or private, it is in the magistrate's discretion. |
| Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? | Yes. |
| Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? | No. |
| Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? | No. |
| Is an oath generally administered to the witness? | Yes. |
| Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? | Yes but a second request is necessary. |
| Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? | If subpoenaed to appear in court, non-appearance amounts to contempt of court which carries a criminal sanction. |
| Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? | Yes. |
| How is the testimony transcribed? | Through stenographic means. |
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Chapter II |
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| Article 15 | Not applicable. |
| Article 16 | Not applicable. |
| Article 17 | Applicable. See Competent Authority. |
| Article 18 | Applicable. See Competent Authority. |
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Taking of evidence by video-links |
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Chapter I |
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | No. |
| Technology used: | No information available. |
| Level of interpretation required: | No information available. |
| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | No information available. |
| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | No information available. |
| Who pays for the interpretation? | No information available. |
| How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? | No information available. |
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Chapter II |
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | No. |
| Technology used: | No information available. |
| Level of interpretation required: | No information available. |
| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | No information available. |
| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | No information available. |
| Who pays for the interpretation? | No information available. |
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Other Information |
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| Bilateral or multilateral agreements | To consult bilateral and multilateral treaties to which South Africa is a party, see: http://www.dirco.gov.za/chiefstatelawadvicer/treatysection.html |
| Useful links: | http://www.dirco.gov.za/ |
| Competent authorities (Art. 8, 17, 18) | Art. 8: See here. Art. 17, 18: See here. |
| Additional authorities (Art. 24) | |
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