At least 200 magistrates will undergo a two-day training workshop on the Sexual Offences Act and the Child Justice Act, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said on Wednesday (13/03/2013).
"The aim of the workshop is to further enhance the skills of regional court magistrates who, in their daily work as judicial officers, preside over sexual offences matters that come before their courts,” Mogoeng said in a statement.
The workshop will take place on Thursday and Friday in Johannesburg and will be conducted by the SA Judicial Education Training Institute.
Legislation governing trafficking in persons, sentencing, the role of the Constitution, and international conventions in dealing with children in conflict would also be covered during the workshop.
Judges, academics, constitutional, and child justice experts would also speak at the workshop.
The magistrates would be appraised on new developments on the sexual offences courts, judicial case management of sexual offences and guidelines on case-flow management, practices in dealing with child witnesses, and other aspects regarding sexual offences.
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe announced last month that the department was in the process of setting up sexual offences courts by April this year. The courts were scrapped in 2006. -
Sapa
