Annexure “G” – LPC nominations and elections

(4)       (a)       Upon promulgation of these regulations, the chairperson must, within 14 days, send a notice to every attorney and every advocate who is admitted to practise and who is enrolled on the Roll of Practising Legal Practitioners contemplated in section 30(3) of the Act, calling for nominations of attorneys and advocates respectively for election to the Council: Provided that  in respect of the first election under these regulations the notice must be sent to every practising attorney who is admitted to practise and is enrolled as such, to every advocate who is enrolled as such, to every law society and society of advocates and to the General Council of the Bar.

(b)       When a vacancy in the Council occurs, the Council must immediately send a notice to every attorney or every advocate who is admitted to practise and who is enrolled on the Roll of Practising Legal Practitioners contemplated in section 30(3) of the Act, depending on whether the person to be elected is an attorney or an advocate, calling for nominations of attorneys or advocates, as the case may be, for election to the Council in the relevant vacancy that has occurred.

(5)       A notice referred to in subregulation (4) must —

(a)       stipulate a date by which the nominations must be received by the Council, which date may not be earlier than ten days from the date of the notice;

(b)       be sent by email to the email address of every legal practitioner, unless  a legal practitioner has not provided the Council an email address, in which case the notice must be sent by prepaid post: Provided that in respect of the first election under these regulations the notice must be sent to every legal practitioner at his or her email address of which the National Forum has knowledge from whatever source or, where the National Forum has no knowledge of an email address, to his or her postal address of which the National Forum has knowledge from any source;

(c)       be published once in the Government Gazette on a date as close as possible to the date of dispatch of the notice;

(d)       give details of the number of vacancies on the Council for attorney members and advocate members, respectively; and

(e)       draw the attention of legal practitioners to the provisions of sections 7(2) and (3) and section 8 of the Act.

(6)       A nomination of an attorney for election to the Council must be made by any two other attorneys in the manner prescribed by subregulations (8) and (9).

(7)       A nomination of an advocate for election to the Council must be made by any two other advocates in the manner prescribed by subregulations (8) and (9).

(8)       Any nomination of an attorney or advocate must be made in a document which provides the following information in respect of each nominee named therein, in not more than 600 words:

(a)       His or her name and identity number;

(b)       in the case of an attorney, the name of the firm of which he or she is a proprietor or a member or by which he or she is employed, stating also whether he or she is a director, a partner or a professional assistant of that firm;

(c)       in the case of an advocate, whether he or she renders legal services in terms of section 34(2)(a)(i) or section 34(2)(a)(ii) of the Act, and in either case whether or not he or she has the status of Senior Counsel;

(d)       his or her race, gender, date of admission and enrolment and period in practice;

(e)       if he or she has a disability and wishes to disclose that fact, a statement to that effect and the nature of the disability;

(f)        the address of his or her principal place of practice; and

(g)       his or her knowledge and experience in the matters set out in section 7(2)(e) of the Act.

(9)       The nomination document referred to in subregulation (8) must —

(a)       be signed by the two nominating attorneys or advocates, as the case may be;

(b)       be endorsed, over the signature of the nominee named therein, by his or her acceptance of the nomination; and

(c)       contain the nominee’s confirmation that —

(i)        the information given therein is correct; and

(ii)       he or she is not disqualified in terms of section 8 of the Act from membership of the Council.

(10)     (a)       Original signed nominations must be lodged with the Council by not later than the date stipulated in the notice referred to in subregulation (5).

(b)       Any nomination which does not substantially comply with these regulations or which is not lodged within the prescribed time does not qualify to be submitted for voting purposes in terms of these regulations.

(11)     If the number of candidates who are nominated exceeds the number to be elected as attorney members or as advocate members, as the case may be, the Council must, within 14 days after the last day on which nominations are required to be lodged in terms of subregulation (5), send to every attorney or advocate, as the case may be, who is eligible to vote, by email to that legal practitioner’s email address or, where the email address of that legal practitioner is not known to the Council, by prepaid post —

(a)       an envelope on which the address of the Council is printed, together with the words “voting papers”, or, where the communication is by email, directions to the legal practitioner as to the size and format of an envelope to be created by the legal practitioner;

(b)       a smaller envelope on which is printed the words “ballot paper” and nothing else, or where the communication is by email, directions to the legal practitioner as to the size and format of an envelope to be created by the legal practitioner;

(c)       a declaration form containing appropriate spaces for —

(i)        the surname and forenames of the voting legal practitioner;

(ii)       a statement whether he or she is an attorney or an advocate;

(iii)      his or her signature and the date of his or her signature; and

(iii)      a declaration by the legal practitioner above his or her signature that he or she has not already voted in the election concerned;

(d)       a ballot paper, in the case of the election of attorneys, in a form that substantially corresponds with Annexure A to these regulations or, in the case of the election of advocates, in a form that substantially corresponds with Annexure B to these regulations, containing the surnames and forenames in alphabetical order, by surname, of the nominated candidates and providing the information indicated in Annexure A or Annexure B, as the case may be, and nothing more;

(e)       a written notice in such form as the Council may direct, requesting the legal practitioner that if he or she wishes to record a vote he or she must —

(i)        place a cross on the accompanying ballot paper against the name of each candidate for whom the legal practitioner wishes to vote, so as to indicate a vote in favour of not more than the number of candidates for which there are vacancies, and to make no other mark or alteration on the ballot paper;

(ii)       place the ballot paper in the envelope marked “ballot paper”;

(iii)      seal the envelope containing the ballot paper;

(iv)      complete and sign the form of declaration;

(v)       place a completed and signed declaration, together with the envelope containing the ballot paper in and seal the envelope marked “voting papers”; and

(vi)      send the envelope marked “voting papers” with its contents to the  Council so as to reach the Council not later than a date referred to in the notice.