By Nomfundo Jele

New conveyancing fees guideline available

The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) has published the new Conveyancing Fees Guideline. The guideline is applicable to instructions received as from 1 June 2019. The conveyancing guideline has been adjusted and is based on the official 2018 Consumer Price Index rate of 4,5%.

It must be noted that this will be only a guideline, issued in the interest of both practitioners and the public. The guideline is necessary in the market and, in the absence of an agreement, the guideline should be the benchmark.

The full guideline is available on the LSSA website under the tab ‘Resources for attorneys’.

Chief Master’s directive: Guardian fund increase

From 1 May 2019, the amount that may be paid directly to the natural guardian of the minor, instead of depositing into the Guardian’s Fund, will increase from R 5 000 to R 20 000. The Assistant Master may allow the payment only on receipt of an acceptable maintenance certificate. The recipient of the money must provide the executor with a receipt, which will be lodged by the executor in compliance with s 35(12)(c)(ii) of the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965.

Read the directive here.

Judge President’s Practice Directive: Rule 46(11)

The Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria, Judge Dunstan Mlambo, has issued a practice directive regarding applications in terms of the recently amended r 46A of the Uniform Rules relating to foreclosures and the sale in execution of properties.

The directive came into effect on 18 April 2019 and includes the following:

• All applications in terms of r 46(11) shall no longer be dealt with by a judge in chambers, but these applications will be referred to and/or set down in the interlocutory court.
• In all cases where the Sheriff wishes to resell the property and where no reserve price was previously set by the court, or where the price was set, but the execution creditor wishes to amend it, the execution creditor shall, at least five days before the hearing, file an affidavit with the Registrar, in terms of r 46A(5)(a) to (e).

Read the full directive and view an example of a draft order here.

Regulation of pro bono services

The Legal Practice Council (LPC) has taken a principle decision that pro bono services be continued to be provided to indigent members of the public by legal practitioners on a similar basis as the previous Rules and that this will be included in the revised regulations. In a notice dated 3 May, the LPC said that this is to ensure that the legal profession continues to make a meaningful contribution of providing access to justice to members of the public who cannot afford legal services.

The LPC has encouraged practitioners to attend to all matters referred by the pro bono offices of the LPC in order to provide and promote access to justice.

The council is currently in the process of formalising the regulation of pro bono services and measures will be taken to include pro bono operations in all the provincial offices.

View the LPC notice here.

Limpopo provincial office of the LPC now operational

The Legal Practice Council (LPC) has announced that the Limpopo Provincial Office of the LPC has been operational since 1 April 2019 and its council was inaugurated on 24 April. The office is situated at:

Unit 2, JCJ Building

2 Biccard Street

Polokwane.

To contact the Limpopo Provincial Offices, telephone (015) 590 0388 or e-mail: limpopo@lpc.org.za.

Mpumalanga Division of the High Court now operational

The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela is now operational. It became operational on 13 May, when the main seat in Mbombela and the local seat in Middleburg heard their first cases. The permanent seats of the Mpumalanga Division signify a historic occurrence, as it is the first time that every province has its own provincial seat of the High Court.

Nomfundo Jele, Communications Officer, Law Society of South Africa, nomfundom@lssa.org.za