The Presidential announcement of the 21-day lockdown period has brought with it its fair share of concerns relating to the operations of essential services.

We at Enderstein van der Merwe pride ourselves on putting our client’s interests at the forefront. It is for this that the guidance notes issued by the Legal Practise Council are of particular importance to us, as they provide a road map for the rendering of essential legal services during this time of uncertainty.

In terms of the Directives issued by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services as read together with the amended Regulations, legal practitioners will be required to possess a permit in order to attend to matters at court. Such permits will have to be issued by the Provincial Director of the relevant Provincial Legal Council.

Practitioners who are unable to obtain such permit from the Director will be entitled to commute between their place of residence and the court at which they are set to appear in relation to urgent and essential matters only. Essential matters are those that relate to bail, urgent maintenance, domestic violence issues and cases involving children.

It should further be noted that practitioners will only be permitted to commute from their place of residence and a police station when arranging for police bail. This is only when and if the investigation officer of the case has confirmed that such bail arrangements have been made.

We would like to direct our clients to the suspension of time limits relating to legal matters during the lockdown period, and the provisions relating to the moving of children between the homes of divorced parents with joint custody during this time.

Our firm understands the seriousness of the pandemic in which our country is faced with. It is for this reason that we strive to comply with the lockdown Directives as strictly and dutifully as is reasonably possible.  We remain committed to taking all reasonable measures to ensure that our staff members remain in isolation while working remotely from home to provide the best possible legal services to our clients during this period.

A complete copy of the regulations can be accessed at https://www.ppv.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2020-03-31-Gazette-Disaster-Management-Directions.pdf

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