TRC Final Report

Volume 1

Chapter 11

Part OtherDepts

Subsection 15

■ THE LEGAL AID BOARD

14 Section 34 of the Act, quoted above, set out the Commission’s obligations regarding the funding of legal representatives.

15 Special meetings were held with the Legal Aid Board leading to agreements on the set forms that people would use when applying to the Commission for legal assistance and on the form of letters approving or refusing applications for legal assistance. The Commission prepared a manual on its statutory obligations in terms of section 34.

16 In consultation with the Legal Aid Board and the Department of Justice, the Commission promulgated the tariff of fees payable to legal practitioners who provided legal assistance in terms of section 34 of the Act.⁵ Leading Evidence at Commission Hearings

17 The Legal Department was directly involved in the preparation and the leading of evidence at hearings on the ANC, the Mandela United Football Club and the PW Botha hearing. In respect of the latter, only preparation work was done as Mr PW Botha did not attend the hearing and criminal action by the attorney-general was still pending at the time of reporting.

■ LEGAL ASSISTANCE

18 Section 34 of the Act provided that:

Any person questioned by an investigation unit and any person who has been subpoenaed or called upon to appear before the Commission is entitled to appoint a legal representative. The Commission may appoint a legal representative, at a tariff to be prescribed, to appear on behalf of the person concerned if it is satisfied that the person is not financially capable of appointing a legal representative himself or herself, and if it is of the opinion that it is in the interests of justice that the person be represented by a legal representative.

19 The Commission created a scheme to provide for the granting of legal assistance to those who qualified. The Legal Aid Board in Pretoria administered the larger part of this scheme on behalf of the Commission.

■ LEGAL AID BOARD-RELATED CASES

20 In a few instances, lawyers who worked for the Commission through the Legal Aid Board disputed the tariff paid. The Legal Department represented the Commission in these cases.6

■ LEGAL DOCUMENTATION AND CONTRACTS

21 The Commission referred most of its contracts, including leases for the rental of premises, to the Legal Department for vetting and/or drafting. These included: staff contracts; a contract with the University of the Free State for the provision of translation services; a contract with Giant Video Screens for the leasing and usage of technical equipment to record hearings proceedings; a contract with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) for radio broadcasts of the Commission’s hearings, and contracts of leases with the various owners of the premises being rented by the Commission.