Narrative Report - NWU · Narrative Report . 01 January 2015 – 30 June 2015 . NORTH WEST...

Narrative Report

01 January 2015 – 30 June 2015

NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY POTCHEFSTROOM CAMPUS

LAW CLINIC

1

Table of Contents

Director’s Statement 2 Personnel 3-4 Legal Services 5-6 Student Training 7-8 Child Justice Unit 9-11 Outreach Projects

North-West Access to Justice Cluster 12-16

Mpumalanga Access to Justice & Land Legal Cluster 17-18

Other Training 19 School for Legal Practice 20-21 Involvement in other projects 22 Contact Details 23 Map 24 Acknowledgements 25

2

Director’s Statement

The Law Clinic form part of the Faculty of Law of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus.

The Law Clinic is involved in a number of projects which concern training, free legal aid services,

community outreach and capacity building programmes as well as advisory services. The Law Clinic

operates in the Provinces of the North West and Mpumalanga where these activities take place.

The abovementioned activities are directed towards:

Training: The practical legal training within the LLB Programme of the NWU. Short courses

involving legal practitioners and paralegals. Training to members of the communities within

the areas where the Law Clinic operates.

Legal aid services: The Law Clinic renders free legal aid services to poor and indigent

people in the provinces aforementioned.

Capacity building programmes: These programmes are towards, inter alia, paralegals and

members of the community to develop legal skills, capacity and to practice such skills in the

communities where they operate.

Advisory services: The Law Clinic furthermore renders advisory services to community

members as such to enhance a “rights based” community and to, instead of taking the law in

their own hands, use the law to enforce their rights.

Within these activities the Law Clinic co-operates with a number of organizations such as Legal Aid

South Africa, Government Departments, Provincial Paralegal Organizations, different NGO’s and

CBO’s to be successful and fulfill its purpose.

Furthermore, the Law Clinic receives funding from international and national donors, as described

herein, to enable it to be involved in these activities. Without these funding this would have not been

possible.

Through its activities the Law Clinic wishes to improve the quality of life of the people in the Provinces

of the North-West and Mpumalanga.

Schalk Meyer

Director: Law Clinic

3

Personnel

The Law Clinic in Potchefstroom employs the following personnel:

Mr Schalk Meyer : Director

Attorney

Lecturer – JURI 312, JURI 322

Mr Braam Klaasen : Attorney

Office Manager

Lecturer – JURI 312, JURI 322

Ms Chrisna Landsberg : Attorney

Project Manager – Legal Services

Mentor – Candidate Attorneys

Mrs Hilary Clayton : Attorney – CJU

Project Manager - Streetlaw Project

Mrs Wilma Kasa : Project Manager - MAJC

Attorney

Mrs Zaida Essop : Attorney

Mentor – Candidate Attorney

Ms Mari Le Roux : Candidate Attorney

Project Manager – NWAJC

Mrs Lizelle Du Pisani : Secretary to Director

Mrs Monique Botes : Administrative Assistant – Clusters, Students and

Candidate Attorneys

Ms Willemien Smit : Receptionist and Office Administrator

Ms Helanie Jonker : Secretary – School for Legal Practice

Ms Awelani Thangavhuelelo : Candidate Attorney

Ms Nozipho Pinana : Candidate Attorney

Mr Jaco Labuschagne : Candidate Attorney

Mr Mpho Mathabathe : Candidate Attorney

Mr Danie Joubert : Candidate Attorney

Mr Schalk Nel : Candidate Attorney

4

Mr Jabulani Nkosi : Paralegal

Messenger and Presenter (Streetlaw)

Mrs Maggie Matsane : Receptionist & Paralegal – MAJC

Ms Adri Le Grange : Secretary – MAJC

Mr Zenzo Mandla Singwane : Advocate – MAJC

Mrs Elsie Nomalanga Sikhakhane : Cleaner

Ms Louise Botha : Student Assistant

Ms Madelain Fouché : Student Assistant

Ms Chara Steyn : Student Assistant

Ms Christél van Niekerk : Student Assistant

Ms Maryke van der Linde : Student Assistant

Ms Lynne Els : Student Assistant

Ms Eriché Kriel : Student Assistant

Ms Chantelle Rebel : Student Assistant

Ms Eunice Maleke : Student Assistant

5

Legal Services

The Law Clinic in Potchefstroom employs attorneys and candidate attorneys, and provides free legal

services to poor and indigent people.

The Clinic also operates from a satellite office at the Potchefstroom Magistrate’s Court, Room G33.

This office is open from 09:00 to 13:00 from Mondays to Fridays.

We assist clients with:

Civil matters Land Claims

Evictions Labour matters

Divorce actions Maintenance Orders

Family violence Children’s Court

Medical negligence

6

STATISTICS FOR THE LAW CLINIC FOR 01 JANUARY 2015 – 30 JUNE 2015

Activity Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

No of cases brought forward 120 109 109 110 113 113

No of clients advised only 42 89 113 106 80 79

No of cases referred 45 41 44 55 52 44

No of consultations 31 44 62 87 75 67

Total no of clients seen 118 174 219 248 207 190

No of new files opened 2 5 11 12 10 16

No of cases closed 13 5 10 9 10 17

No of court appearances 9 4 8 23 16 7

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

260

280

300

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

No of cases brought forward

No of clients advised only

No of cases referred

No of consultations

Total no of clients seen

No of new files opened

No of cases closed

No of court appearances

7

Student Training

At the Law Clinic in Potchefstroom great emphasis is placed on the practical legal training for our

students. We believe that it is important for our students to have a good understanding of legal

practice before they complete their degree. The Clinic conducts two practical legal training courses

for the LLB students. The courses are compulsory for all final year law students at the Potchefstroom

Campus.

We present the following modules:

JURI 312 (Final year students, first semester)

JURI 322 (Final year students, second semester)

Full time students for JURI 312 and JURI 322 have to attend a practical session, either at the clinic or

at the local Magistrate’s Court, of two hours per week during the course of these modules. That is

approximately 22 hours per module. Students also have to attend a formal lecture of minimum one

hour per week, which is approximately 11 hours per module.

Chrisna Landsberg and Schalk Meyer are the lecturers responsible for the theoretical and practical

training sessions. The entire Law Clinic team is committed to providing students with the opportunity

to do practical legal training.

Practical sessions include:

Consultations with clients

General file administration

Correspondence

Drafting of letters and pleadings

Visits to court

Trial Advocacy

Mock-trials

Alternate Dispute Resolution

Divorce, Maintenance and Domestic Violence

General Court Proceedings and Ethics

8

The semester mark of the students is compiled from their practical work during the practical sessions

at the Law Clinic. Their practical work constitutes 70% of their final mark. The other 30% consists of

an exam written at the end of a semester.

The Law Clinic also believes that the students should be involved in community engagement as part

of their preparation for the legal profession. We believe that students must be enabled to obtain the

necessary knowledge of the legal profession in all the different career possibilities available to them.

Therefore the Law Clinic give students the opportunity to “shadow” either an Attorney from Legal Aid

South Africa or a Public Prosecutor working at the local Magistrate’s Court to enable students to make

an appropriate career choice.

As part of the Clinic’s initiative to give students the true feeling of practice in the real world, local

Magistrates, Attorneys, Prosecutors, Advocates and other legal professionals gave lectures and

provided practical training for Mock-Trial teams.

The Law Clinic coached students for the LexisNexis Mock Trial competition. The team from North

West University, Potchefstroom Campus won for the seventh year in a row.

LexisNexis Intervarsity Criminal Mock Trial Competition 2014

The Law Faculty of the NWU, Potchefstroom Campus won the LexisNexis Intervarsity Criminal Mock

Trial Competition for the sixth consecutive year in 2014.

The Law Faculty of the NWU, Potchefstroom Campus will again compete in this competition from 8 –

12 September 2015 in Port Elizabeth. The competition will be hosted by Nelson Mandela

Metropolitan University and LLB students from Universities across the country will take part in the

competition.

The competition will consist of a series of rounds over a period of three days where participating

teams will be required to simulate criminal trials based on sets of facts given to them prior to each

round. Students compete in knock-out sessions, where after the finalist competes against each other

at a gala event in front of a full bench of presiding officers.

The team with the highest score in the Final Round will be the winner of the competition. The winners

will be announced at the Closing Function.

9

Child Justice Unit

The Child Justice Unit (CJU) forms part of the North West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Law

Clinic.

The Clinic and the CJU was established to promote access to justice and are committed to the

provision of legal aid services to the poor and marginalized components of South African society.

The Child Justice Unit has the following goals and objectives:

Research on and advocacy for children’s rights;

Providing legal services to children;

The encouragement and promotion of accessible and child friendly Children’s Courts;

The protection of children found to be in need of care and protection;

Providing training and education to the community with a focus on children’s rights;

The encouragement and promotion of alternative dispute resolution in matters where children

are involved;

The development of collaborative partnerships with other organizations that share the vision

of the CJU;

Prevent or end gross human rights violations and promote positive change in policies or

actions of government or relevant non-state actors in the area of human rights;

Educate and/or train human rights victims, workers or defenders;

Monitor, seek redress for and/or report on human rights violations, including supporting

victims of human rights abuses;

Promote observance and implementation of international human rights standards;

Promote and strengthen national or regional human rights institutions or mechanisms.

Purpose

On 1 April 2010 the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 was promulgated in South Africa.

This act gives hope to the implementation of International Human Rights Standards pertaining to

children in South Africa. The Children’s Act provides the Children’s Court with more power and to

give a wider range of orders pertaining to children, making courts more accessible to children.

Mediation, family conferences and lay forum hearings are introduced by this act in matters where

children are concerned.

The implementation of this act brings focus to the right of a child to be heard. The objective of the

CJU is protection and promotion of children’s rights.

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Children, the community and social workers are trained and educated on promotion of children’s

rights, the legal processes involved in matters regarding children and the protection of children found

to be in need of care and protection. Legal assistance is rendered to children and the implementation

of alternative dispute resolution techniques are encouraged and facilitated.

Children have special needs and therefore the CJU works towards providing skill, means and support

to ensure that Children’s Courts are accessible to children and have a child-friendly atmosphere.

By educating and training the community, children and social workers, and by doing research and

advocacy, we strengthen the focus on Children’s Rights and the implementation thereof.

When children are removed from their families after found to be in need of care and protection, the

CJU strives to provide these children with the basic means of life, including clothing and food, to ease

the emotional and physical pain. The CJU provides these children with legal representation or advice

to prevent further violation of their rights.

In July 2011 the CJU signed a co-operation agreement with Legal Aid South Africa pertaining to

children’s legal assistance in the North West Province. During 2015 the cooperation agreement was

extended for a period of three years.

We have the goodwill of and access to the skill and expertise of highly committed attorneys,

candidate attorneys and administrative staff, ensuring that we can assist the children of the North

West Province with this much needed service.

11

STATISTICS FOR THE CJU FOR JANUARY 2015 – JUNE 2015

Activity Jan Feb March Apr May Jun

No of existing Cases 119 108 108 106 110 98

No of cases opened 5 3 3 5 4 4

No of cases finalized 16 3 5 1 4 4

No of court appearances (criminal – watching brief)

0 0 5 0 0 0

No of court appearances (civil & children’s court)

34 9 20 16 18 18

No of cases carried over to next month

108 108 106 110 98 98

During 2015 the CJU presented training sessions to Masters Students completing their degree in

International Child Law.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

130

Jan Feb March Apr May Jun

No of existing Cases

No of cases opened

No of cases finalized

No of court appearances (criminal – watching brief)

No of court appearances (civil & children’s court)

No of cases carried over tonext month

Who Topics Participants Time spent

April LLM students LLM 1 40

June LLM students LLM 1 80 Hours

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North West Access to Justice Cluster

The Law Clinic, in co-operation with Legal Aid South Africa and various NGO’s and CBO’s operates

an Access to Justice Cluster in North-West Province.

The cluster is a co-operation between various legal service providers and other organizations with the

aim of providing access to justice and services to poor and marginalized people in rural and remote

areas.

The main activities of the cluster include back-up legal services to paralegal advice offices,

community workshops, networking and advocacy.The Potchefstroom Law Clinic is acting as the

secretariat of the NWAJC and handles all the administration and financial management of the

Cluster.

BACK-UP LEGAL SERVICES

The Potchefstroom Law Clinic serves 9 paralegal advice offices, namely Leeudoringstad,

Wolmaransstad, Orkney, Jouberton, Lethabong, Bojanala, Makwassie, Ventersdorp and

Lethlabile Each of the offices are visited once every second month and candidate attorneys then

consult with clients at the advice office.

In the case where a file is opened the paralegals assist in obtaining outstanding information from the

client, and forward it to the Clinic. The paralegals also play an important role in giving feedback to

clients when it is difficult to reach them.

COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

Various community workshops were planned with the cooperation of Traditional Leaders and/or

Paralegal Advice Offices through-out North West, and 6 community workshops were held. A total of

121 members of the community attended these workshops.

The main objective of these workshops is to educate members of communities on their basic rights.

The topics for the workshops are chosen after consultation with the paralegals working in the specific

community, and are usually focussed on addressing pressing issues experienced by the community.

13

The themes that were discussed were the following: HIV/AIDS and patient rights, Drug and Alcohol

abuse, Social Grants, Maintenance, Women and Children abuse, Domestic violence, Parental

Responsibilities and Rights.

Some of the paralegal advice offices to which the NWAJC renders back-up legal services:

Lethabong Advice Centre

Letllabile Network Against Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and HIV-Aids

Bojanala Advice Centre

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STATISTICS OF THE NWAJC FOR JANUARY 2015 – JUNE 2015

Activity Jan Feb March April May June









0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Jan Feb March April May June




No of consultations



No of cases closed


15

SCHOOL WORKSHOPS

COMMUNITY OUTREACH- SCHOOLS

During 2015 the law clinic will expand the Schools Workshop project from 09 schools in 2014 to 18

schools in 2015 including more schools from Jouberton, Ventersdorp, Khuma and Potchefstroom. The

schools workshops are presented at different high schools in the Ikageng, Jouberton, Ventersdorp,

Potchefstroom and Khuma area. Topics discussed are Rape, Sexual Offences, Substance Abuse

,Dress code of Uniform, Women`s and Children Abuse and Crime Prevention, Xenophobia amongst

others. Meetings have been held with the Department of Education to ensure cooperation from the

department in this regard.

To date the following schools were visited;

1. Potchefstroom Gymnasium High School

2. Vuyane Mawethu High School

3. Gaenthone High School

4. Are- fadimeheng High School

5. Chris Hani High school High School

6. Poelano High School

7. Thuto Thebe High School

8. Dirang ka Nathla High School;

9. Mofalotsi High school

10. Tlokwe High School

11. Resolofetse High School

12. Seiphemelo High School

13. Botoka High School

14. Promosa High School

15. Boitshoko High School

16. Seobi High School

17. Borakanelo High School

18. Phire High School

16

The children had showed huge interest regarding vandalism, theft, bulling connected to gangsterism.

One of the grade 12 pupils who attended the workshop in Ventersdorp also motivated her fellow

students not to do crime and to work hard at school.

The NWAJC will continue with the "Prison Alert Project", as part of the NWAJC Crime Prevention

Community Outreach Program, where learners visit the Wilgeboom Correctional Services outside

Potchefstroom. The learners are taken on a tour inside the prison and prisoners gave motivational

speeches.

17

Mpumalanga Access to Justice Cluster

The Law Clinic, in co-operation with Legal Aid South Africa and various NGO’s and CBO’s operates

an Access to Justice Cluster in Mpumalanga.

The cluster is a co-operation between various legal service providers and other organizations with the

aim of providing access to justice and services to poor and marginalized people in rural and remote

areas. The main activities of the cluster include back-up legal services to paralegal advice offices,

community workshops, networking and advocacy.

BACK-UP LEGAL VISITS

The Mpumalanga Access to Justice Cluster provides back-up legal services to the following Paralegal

Advice Offices:

1. Masisikumeni (Tonga)

2. Ukuthula (Kwaggafontein)

3. Leandra

4. Buhlabela (Bushbuckridge)

5. Daggakraal (Ermelo)

6. Kwa Qua (Witbank)

7. Mkhondo (Driefontein)

8. Senzokuhle (Hendrina)

9. Nkomazi

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STATISTICS OF THE MAJC FOR JANUARY 2015 – JUNE 2015

Activity Jan Feb March April May June









0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

260

280

300

320

340

360

Jan Feb March April May June




No of consultations



No of cases closed


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Other Training

Training to Legal Aid South Africa

The Law Clinic presented the following training to paralegals employed by Legal Aid South Africa:

REGIONS TOPICS VENUE NUMBER OF

PARALEGALS NUMBER OF DAYS

National Introductory Paralegal

Training (Phase 1) Braamfontein 17 5

National Advanced Paralegal Training (Phase 2)

Braamfontein 20 5

FS/NW Basic Legal Training

for Administrative Staff Bloemfontein 15 4

Gauteng Basic Legal Training

for Administrative Staff Braamfontein 20 4

KZN Basic Legal Training

for Administrative Staff Pinetown 22 4

WCNC Basic Legal Training

for Administrative Staff Stellenbosch To be conducted 4

EC Basic Legal Training

for Administrative Staff Port Elizabeth To be conducted 4

MP/LP Basic Legal Training

for Administrative Staff Polokwane To be conducted in 2016 4

National Mediation Skills

Training Braamfontein To be conducted 5

National Mediation Skills

Training Stellenbosch To be conducted 5

20

School for Legal Practice

The Faculty of Law of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus and the Law Clinic host the

School for Legal Practice for the North-West Province in association with the Law Society of South

Africa (LSSA) and other major role players in the legal profession.

The School for Legal Practice is situated on the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University

and caters mainly for law graduates of the North-West University. The medium of instruction is

English in order to accommodate learners from the province. Students have the option to write their

exams in Afrikaans.

Students who complete the school programme successfully receive one-year reduction from their

articles and may write the Attorneys Admission Examination immediately after completion of the

school programme.

The school is administered as prescribed by the Policy Statement of the LSSA and students are

issued with the training material developed by the LSSA. Assessment is also in accordance with the

Policy Statement. Instructors are legal practitioners with appropriate experience in a specific legal

field.

37 Students were enrolled in the School for Legal Practice during 2015.

21

The module programme includes the following subjects:

Module 1: Module 2:

Criminal Court Practice

Constitutional Practice

Professional Conduct

Trial Advocacy

Magistrate’s Court Practice

High Court Practice

Matrimonial and Divorce matters

Personal Injury Claims Insolvency Procedures

Legal Costs

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Module 3: Module 4:

Commercial contracts

Commercial litigation

Forms of business enterprises

Labour Dispute Resolution

Wills, Estates and Trusts

Attorneys Bookkeeping

Aspects of Business Management

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Involvement in other Projects

South African University Law Clinic Association (SAULCA)

(formerly known as Association of University Legal Aid Institutions (AULAI))

SAULCA is a voluntary association of all South African university law clinics, established in

approximately 1982 to promote and protect the interests, values and goals of its members. SAULCA's

vision is to be a professional and efficient organization committed to democratic values and human

rights, and dedicated to promoting excellence in clinical legal education and access to justice. The

Director, Mr. Schalk Meyer and Ms. Chrisna Landsberg serve on the Executive Committee of

SAULCA.

AULAI Trust

AULAI TRUST is a fund created for the benefit of all university based legal aid & clinical legal

educational institutions in South Africa.

The Director of the Law Clinic, Mr Schalk Meyer, is the Programme Manager for the Trust, and the

Clinic handles the programme management of the Trust.

National Alliance for the Development of Community Based Advice offices

(NADCAO)

NADCAO is a forum of different stakeholders that share the interest and commitment to ensure the

sustainability of the paralegal sector. The stakeholders, including service providers, donors,

membership based organizations, and national NGOs, represent a new and fresh partnership model

of different role players and interests, tied together by common concerns and commitments.

These common concerns and commitments include:

Expansion of access to social justice in South Africa;

Sustainability of the sector;

The need for advocacy to help advance processes related to the recognition by government;

Professionalization of the sector.

The Director of the Law Clinic, Mr Schalk Meyer, is a board member of NADCAO.

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Contact Details

Physical Address:

1st floor GKSA Administrative Building

C/o Thabo Mbeki Drive & Meyer street

POTCHEFSTROOM

2531

Tel: +27 18 297 5341

Fax: +27 18 297 1395

E-Mail: [email protected]/[email protected]

Website: www.puk.ac.za/fakulteite/regte/ccld_e.html

Postal Address:

North West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Law Clinic

P.O Box 20810

Noordbrug

POTCHEFSTROOM

2522

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Acknowledgements

The North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Law Clinic renders outstanding services set out

in this report. The contributions from all our donors are very important as, without these contributions,

it would not have been possible to render the services as set out herein. This joint venture is of great

benefit to the people we wish to serve and the Law Clinic wishes to acknowledge the contributions

from all our donors.

Narrative Report - NWU · Narrative Report . 01 January 2015 – 30 June 2015 . NORTH WEST...

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