Deputy Chair, Chairperson of the NCOP, Chief Whip of the Council, special delegates from our provinces, Deputy Minister of Finance, in absentia, members of this august House, the Select Committee on Security and Justice received a letter from the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, dated 16 February 2018, for the committee to consider, on an informal basis, the draft regulations made in terms of section 23(1) of the Legal Aid South Africa Act, Act 39 of 2014, prior to its formal tabling in Parliament. The draft regulations, once they are formally tabled, cannot be amended without formal withdrawal, amendment and retabling. The Minister and Legal Aid South Africa therefore
consulted the committee on the draft regulations to the Legal Aid South Africa Act, Act 39 of 2014.
Legal Aid SA makes available legal aid and legal advice; provides legal representation to persons at the state's expense; and provides education and information concerning legal rights and obligations, as envisaged in the Constitution and the Act. These proposed amendments to Regulation 27 increase the threshold amounts applied by Legal Aid SA when determining who qualifies for legal aid. This means that more people will be allowed to access legal aid in South Africa and therefore have broader access to justice.
Regulation 27 provides for the means test to determine whether a person qualifies for legal aid. The test is necessary to decide whether a person can or cannot afford his or her own legal representation. The main factor in the test is the applicant's net monthly income, but the applicant's assets and property are taken into consideration, as well.
Regulation 27(1) remains the same, providing that "in order to qualify for legal aid in either civil or criminal cases, the legal aid applicant's gross monthly income ... [Interjections.]