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Minister of Justice and Penitentiary Services, Ronald Lamola.
- The Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill seeks expunge certain criminal records resulting from an admission of guilty payment.
- Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said that the CThe ovid-19 pandemic held back the introduction of legislation.
- The bill will be available for public comment next month.
South Africans who have paid a fine for trivial offenses will no longer have to worry about having a criminal record.
That is if Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has his way with the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill that seeks to eliminate certain criminal records that result from an admission of guilt payment.
Responding to a written parliamentary question from ACDP MP Steve Swart about when the government will introduce legislation that will prevent a guilty plea fine from incurring a criminal record, Lamola said his department was addressing the issue through the draft amendment.
“Unfortunately, the draft amendment has been delayed due to Covid-19,” Lamola added.
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Currently, article 57 of the Criminal Procedure Law (CPA) provides for the admission of guilt in relation to the crime and the payment of a stipulated fine without appearing in court.
Section 57A of the CPA provides for the admission of guilt and the payment of a fine, after appearing in court, but before the defendant has pleaded guilty.
“Pursuant to Section 57 (6) of the CPA, when a fine has been paid, the money, along with the summons or written notice to appear, must be sent to the clerk of the magistrate court having jurisdiction, and the clerk you must complete the criminal record book of guilty confessions, after which the defendant is considered to have been convicted and convicted by the court in relation to the crime in question.
“The immediate practical effect of paying a fine for admission of guilt is that the accused is exempted from appearing in court and, once the formalities prescribed in article 57 (6) have been completed, he is deemed to have been convicted and sentenced by the court regarding the relevant charge, “he said.
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Lamola also said that not all guilty tickets have a criminal record.
“Article 341 of the CPA provides for the combination of certain minor offenses and the payment of a fine with respect to minor offenses [which] they relate to statutes and minor traffic offenses. Paying a fine in terms of Section 341 of the CPA does not generate a prior conviction.
“In short, the CPA allows magistrates to set an amount on the spot on the admission of guilt.”
“It is also worth noting that since this is a judicial function, our department has had compromises with the chief magistrates to try to achieve uniformity in such fines. There appears to be uniformity within magisterial groups, but not necessarily uniformity between groups. “he added. Lamola said.
In May, the National Prosecutor’s Office refused to prosecute around 25% of confinement crimes.
Acting Deputy National Director of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Rodney de Kock, told the Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio Committee that 25% of the records of confinement offenses were not registered.
For most offenses, offenders were given a later hearing date.
Lamola said a draft legislative proposal, in the form of a bill, would revise the current fine for admission of guilt “as provided in the CPA.”
This will provide:
- The payment of fines that do not give rise to a prior conviction;
- Payment of fines for admission of guilt that give rise to previous convictions;
- The elimination of certain criminal records resulting from the admission of guilty fines;
- The expungement of criminal records resulting from the admission of guilty fines paid with respect to trivial crimes prior to the enactment of the proposed law;
- A process to identify and prescribe crimes, subject to parliamentary approval, which will be subject to the payment of fines that do not result in prior conviction; and
- An improved review process regarding the payment of convictions that do result in prior convictions.
Lamola said the legislative proposal is in an advanced stage of finalization and that a bill will be submitted for public consultation next month.
