Children's Act, 2005 (Act No. 38 of 2005)Chapter 4 : Children’s CourtsPart 3 : Pre-hearing conferences, family group conferences, other lay-forums and settling matters out of court69. Prehearing conferences |
| (1) | If a matter brought to or referred to a children's court is contested, the court may order that a pre-hearing conference be held with the parties involved in the matter in order to— |
| (a) | mediate between the parties; |
| (b) | settle disputes between the parties to the extent possible; and |
| (c) | define the issues to be heard by the court. |
| (2) | Pre-hearing conferences may not be held in the event of a matter involving the alleged abuse or sexual abuse of a child. |
| (3) | The child involved in the matter may attend and may participate in the conference unless the children’s court decides otherwise. |
| (4) | The court may |
| (a) | prescribe how and by whom the conference should be set up, conducted and by whom it should be attended; |
| (b) | prescribe the manner in which a record is kept of any agreement or settlement reached between the parties and any fact emerging from such conference which ought to be brought to the notice of the court; and |
| (c) | consider the report on the conference when the matter is heard. |