August 4, 2004
By Lucky Sindane
JOHANNESBURG'S much-anticipated municipal court, which will deal with by-law contraventions in the inner city, will be officially launched by the mayor, Amos Masondo, on 27 August.
Initial plans to establish a municipal court in Johannesburg were approved by the Department of Justice in 2002, with hearings expected to begin in November of that year. However, the process was postponed in anticipation of the promulgation of new by-laws that were adopted by the City of Johannesburg in the middle of 2003.
"The new by-laws were promulgated on 21 May 2004. The fine schedules are being approved by all the chief magistrates in Johannesburg and should be done by the end of August," said director of legal services for the City, Karen Brits.
"The court's hearings are expected to commence on Monday, 4 October 2004," she added.
The new municipal court will be based in the Johannesburg Magistrates' Court building and will deal with municipal offences - the violation of by-laws regulating activities such as street trading, noise control and vandalism - in the inner city.
With jurisdiction limited to the Johannesburg magisterial district, the court will have the power of an ordinary magistrate's court and will be able to issue fines up to R10 000 or a term of imprisonment of no longer than six months.
"A prosecutor has been appointed and will start working in September. The City of Johannesburg had to fund the appointment of staff to manage the court," said Brits.
In addition to Johannesburg metro police officers, Brits said, "Law enforcement officers from the different departments in the City have undergone training. These officers will issue fines and summons people (who contravene the City's by-laws) to the court."
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