On 20 September 2014, President Jacob Zuma signed into law the - TopicsExpress

On 20 September 2014, President Jacob Zuma signed into law the long- awaited Legal Practice Act. Students for Law and Social Justice (SLSJ) welcomes, in particular, section 29 of the Act, which empowers the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development to prescribe community service as a component of the training of candidate legal practitioners. SLSJ has actively campaigned since 2010 –through research, education, and engagement with various stakeholders – for the introduction of a mandatory community service programme for law graduates seeking admission to the legal profession. Access to justice for the majority of South Africa’s poor, particularly in relation to non-criminal matters, remains elusive. A comprehensive community service programme, much like the programme that exists for medical graduates, could contribute significantly to alleviating this problem and would serve as a vital pillar in the transformation of the legal education of South Africa’s future lawyers. It is therefore very encouraging that the legislature has paved the way for such a programme. It is a necessary first step in the right direction. In order to make community service a reality, however, much work still needs to be done. Section 29 of the Act is but an enabling provision. Thus the implementation of community service is dependent upon the promulgation of regulations by the Minister, further campaigning and engagement with government and the Legal Practice Council, which is yet to be established. All law students, are invited to the public lecture scheduled as follows. Date:05 NOVEMBER 2014 Time:1400-1600 Venue: WSU SCHOOL OF LAW MOOT COURT »SLSJ EXECUTIVE, IN COLLABORATION WITH JURIDICAL SOCIETY«