Attorneys Act, 1979 (Act No. 53 of 1979)Rules for the Attorneys' ProfessionPart II : MembersDeclaration of persons as members |
| 2.8 | In declaring a person to be a member of the society under section 57(2) of the Act, the Council shall have regard, inter alia, to the following considerations: |
| 2.8.1 | the nature and length of duration of his or her employment or of the profession, business or other occupation practised, conducted or engaged in by him or her; |
| 2.8.2 | whether or not he or she practises or resides outside the jurisdiction of the relevant society; |
| 2.8.3 | where application to be so declared a member is made by him or her, the reasons which he or she advances in support of his or her application; |
| 2.8.4 | whether, if he or she is employed, his or her employer supports or objects to his or her admission to membership and, in either case, the reasons advanced for the support or objection; |
| 2.8.5 | whether he or she would, in the opinion of the Council, be a person whom the Council would consider fit and proper to practise in the jurisdiction of the relevant society. |
| 2.9 | Every such declaration shall be conditional upon: |
| 2.9.1 | the person concerned having, should the Council so require, before being declared a member, furnished the society with his or her written acknowledgement that he or she is aware that he or she is bound by the Act and the rules of the society and the code of conduct of the profession, including the rules of professional conduct contained in Part VI of the rules; |
| 2.9.2 | the person concerned ceasing to be a declared member upon the date of a written notice to him or her by the Council that, because of a change of his or her employment or of his or her profession, business or other occupation, or because, in the opinion of the Council, there has been a material alteration in the circumstances upon which the Council based its decision to declare him or her a member or because that decision was based upon information which, in the judgment of the Council, was erroneous, false or misleading, or on account of conduct on the part of the declared member which in the opinion of the Council is unethical or improper, the Council deems it desirable that his or her declared membership should cease; |
| 2.9.3 | such further conditions as the Council may see fit to impose in writing in declaring him to be a member; |
| 2.9.4 | the right of the Council from time to time, in its discretion, by means of written communications to the member concerned, to impose such conditions as it could have imposed in terms of rule 2.9.2, or to add to or otherwise vary any such conditions previously imposed. |
| 2.10 | Declared members shall not have the right to vote and shall not be eligible for appointment or election to the Council. |
| 2.11 | Before issuing a notice in terms of rule 2.9.2 the Council shall afford the person concerned an opportunity to be heard, and, either in the notice itself or, if so required by him or her, after the notice has been issued, shall furnish the member concerned with written reasons for its decision. |
| 2.12 | The Council shall be entitled to terminate a declared member's membership of the society if it deems it desirable to do so by reasons of: |
| 2.12.1 | any change in the nature of such member's employment subsequent to his or her declaration as a member; |
| 2.12.2 | any alteration, deemed by the Council to be material. In the circumstances in the light of which the Council exercises its discretion to declare him or her a member including (but without derogating from the generality of the aforegoing) the reliance by the Council, in making such declaration, upon information which, in its opinion, appears to be erroneous, false or misleading; |
| 2.12.3 | any other circumstances which, in the opinion of the Council, justify such a termination of membership. |