SERVICES ON THE CRIMINAL LAW (SEXUAL OFFENCES AND RELATED MATTERS) AMENDMENT ACT AMENDMENT BILL [B18-2007], DATED 3 MARCH 2015

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act Amendment Bill [B18-2014] ("the Bill") was referred to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services ("the Committee") on 5 December 2014 (ATC 103-2014). The Bill seeks to amend the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, (2007) ("the Act"), and aims to give effect to two separate judgments of the Constitutional Court in the case of The Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children and Others v the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others [2013] ZACC 35 CCT 12/13 (the ''Teddy Bear case''), and the case of J v the National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others [2014] ZACC 13 CCT 114/13 (the ''J case'').

In the Teddy Bear case, the Constitutional Court declared sections 15 and section 16 of the Act inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid. The declaration of invalidity was suspended for 18 months from the date of the judgment (i.e. 3 October 2013) in order to allow Parliament to correct the defect. The deadline by which to correct this defect is 2 April 2015.

In the J case, the Constitutional Court declared section 50(2)(a) of the Act inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid. The declaration of invalidity was suspended for 15 months from the date of the order (i.e. 6 May 2014) in order to allow Parliament to correct the defect. The deadline by which to rectify this defect is 5 August 2015.

The Bill was advertised for comment on Parliament's website and social media platforms as from 15 December 2015, and in newspapers as from 26 January 2015. By the end of business on 2 February 2015, the Committee had already received close to 440 submissions. The Committee met on 3 February 2015 to receive an introductory briefing on the Bill from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Given the complexity and sensitivity of the issues which relate to the protection of children, and the Constitutional Court's emphasis - in paragraph 109 of the Teddy Bear case especially - that the process to amend the legislation should allow all relevant parties to provide input, the Committee agreed that it would be most appropriate to extend its consultation process so as to ensure adequate public participation and thorough deliberations. To date, the Committee has received 932 submissions from the public. The Committee feels that it is not in a position to finalize the Bill before the deadline and that the Constitutional Court should be approached for an extension.

In light of the above, the Committee recommends that the National Assembly supports its request that the Constitutional Court be approached for an extension of deadline set in the Teddy Bear case to 5 August 2015, which is the deadline set in the J case.

Report to be considered.