Deputy Speaker, now we know who in this Parliament supports transformation to the full extent of the term and who supports it only if it maintains the status quo. [Applause.]
Hon Deputy Speaker and hon Deputy President, Ministers, inkosi eziphakathi kwethu [Chiefs who are amongst us], hon members, I join those who spoke before me in support of the Legal Practice Bill. This is a Bill that seeks to transform the attorneys' and advocates' professions with a view to helping them promote access to justice by the people of our land, while at the same time promoting the interests of the practitioners.
It goes without saying that the profession of legal practitioners is a vital cog in the machinery responsible for the administration of justice, as these are the people who are trained in the knowledge of the law in order to interpret it for the very ordinary citizens. It should therefore be self-evident that our legal practitioners must be independent in the manner in which they carry out their vocation.
It is in alignment with this basic principle that the Legal Practice Council will be composed of 10 practicing attorneys, six practicing advocates, two teachers of law, one person designated by Legal Aid SA, one person who need not be a legal practitioner, but who is designated by the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund board, as well as a mere three persons designated by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
So, out of a council of 23 members, 20 are designated by members of the profession themselves.
The passage of this Bill by Parliament has been long in the making. As is the nature of transformation, a great deal of resistance from and division within the profession were responsible for such delays. The legal profession is divided between attorneys and advocates, as well as along racial and gender lines. As in most professions and careers whose origins stem from our colonial and apartheid past, the profession is dominated by white males, much more so my profession, the advocate's profession.
In our quest for an egalitarian, nonsexist and nonracial society, it is imperative that this particular profession is assisted to undergo the changes necessary for the attainment of this goal. Clearly, those who benefit from the status quo cannot be expected voluntarily to effect the required changes. It would be nave and unfair of us to have such expectations of the beneficiaries of the current state of affairs.
The structures that this Bill will establish will ensure that the profession is independent, professional, racially and gender diverse, and accountable and accessible to the public itself through, among others, a fair determination of the fees charged. It is imperative that all those principles are met without anyone being elevated above the others.
Alongside all other bodies established by the Bill, namely the Legal Services Ombud, the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund Board and the National Forum on the Legal Profession, the SA Legal Practice Council and its provincial bodies will ensure that the legal profession is the service provider of choice for all South Africans, not just for those who have access to unlimited financial resources.
In the event that the Legal Practice Council fails to function effectively and efficiently, as a result of which it loses the confidence of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Bill facilitates the dissolution of the council by the Minister. Such power to dissolve the council, contrary to what we have been told, is subject to an elaborate process involving the consultation of the council by the Minister, the requesting of the ombud to conduct an investigation and, ultimately, an application to the High Court for the requisite order.
Some of us in the committee would have preferred that, as part of the transformation and especially with regard to the high fees charged to those who seek the services of lawyers, the attorneys' and advocates' professions be merged. After all, attorneys and advocates serve the same constituency. There can be no doubt that the benefits accruing from this division are enjoyed more by the practitioners than by the clients who pay for the services. For one case alone, a single client could be required to pay fees that are due to an attorney as well as those due to an advocate. Sometimes there will also be a junior and a senior advocate.
Whilst in the course of our interaction with the attorneys and the advocates, some of the attorneys were amenable to the idea of a merger. The bulk of the advocates were not so keen. In the interests of peace and the need to move forward, we agreed for the time being to let the status quo remain.
We also took note of the fact that a large body of advocates takes briefs directly from clients, without the medium of attorneys. The Bill provides that they continue to do so provided that they are first issued with Fidelity Fund certificates, as is the case with practicing attorneys. This is in order to protect the interests of clients. Such an arrangement will contribute in some small way to the reduction of legal costs.
Historically and traditionally, judges of the High Court were selected from the ranks of senior advocates. Transformation and democratic imperatives demanded that there be a departure from this approach. As a result, our current judges - who are proving to be quite capable of discharging their responsibilities - come from the ranks of advocates, junior and senior, attorneys and teachers of law.
The lawyers that our universities produce study for the same LLB degree. The junior degrees of B Juris and B Proc - which were required mostly for prosecutors, magistrates and attorneys - are no longer offered. All are now required to have the same Bachelor of Law, LLB, degree. The justification for the continuation of the division between attorneys and advocates is therefore gradually fading. There shall therefore come a time when Parliament will have to amend this law to accommodate this reality.
We are legislating for success. The ANC, as has been said, fully supports the passage of this Bill. [Applause.]