Cape
29 September 2006
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development held a Provincial
Legal Service Charter consultative workshop in the Eastern Cape Province in
Port Elizabeth on Friday, 29 September 2006. This process was the first of a
series of consultative workshops which will be undertaken throughout the
provinces to give an opportunity to members of the legal services sector, the
public, and the legal profession who were unable to attend the National Indaba
to provide their inputs on the charter.
In December 2004 the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development,
Bridgette Mabandla announced a steering committee whose mandate was to oversee
the process of developing the Legal Services Charter and to further advise the
Minister on the consultative processes with stakeholders.
The charter seeks to address the following issues:
* access to justice by poor, uneducated communities
* quality and affordable delivery of legal services to the public
* accessibility of legal services to communities
* entry requirements to the legal profession
* equal opportunities of legal services amongst legal practitioners
* access to legal work including state and parastatal contracts by black legal
practitioners
* the role of the legal profession in promoting equality in the judiciary
* transformation of governance structures of the legal profession
* a unified regulatory framework for the legal profession
* empowerment of historically disadvantaged black legal practitioners
* skills development, employment equity, ownership and management within the
legal profession.
Enquiries:
Lazarus Mothupi
Tel: (012) 315 1807
Cell: 082 4472 550
Fax: 086 688 2676
Email: lmothupi@justice.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
29 September 2006
