Suppression of Communism Act, 1950/1967-03-08

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as amended by

Suppression of Communism Amendment Act, No. 50 of 1951 Riotous Assemblies and Suppression of Communism Amendment Act, No. 15 of 1954 General Law Amendment Act, No. 76 of 1962 General Law Amendment Act, No. 37 of 1963 General Law Amendment Act, No. 80 of 1964 Suppression of Communism Amendment Act, No. 97 of 1965 Suppression of Communism Amendment Act, No. 8 of 1966 General Law Amendment Act, No. 62 of 1966 Suppression of Communism Amendment Act, No. 24 of 1967

5ter. (1) The Minister may by notice in the Gazette prohibit all persons whose names appear on any list in the custody of the officer referred to in section 8 or who were office-bearers, officers or members of any organization which has under section 2 (2) been declared to be an unlawful organization or in respect of whom any prohibition under this Act by way of notices addressed and delivered or tendered to them is in force, from—

being or becoming office-bearers, officers or members,

making or receiving any contribution of any kind for the direct or indirect benefit, or

participating in any way in any activity,

of any particular organization or any organization of a nature, class or kind specified in such notice, except with the written consent of the Minister or a magistrate acting in pursuance of his general or special instructions: Provided that the Minister shall not issue any such notice in relation to any employers’ organization or trade union registered under the Industrial Conciliation Act, 1956 (Act No. 28 of 1956), except after consultation with the Minister of Labour.

(2) The Minister may at any time by like notice withdraw or vary any notice under sub-section (1).

5quat. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law contained—

no person shall be admitted by the court of any division of the Supreme Court of South Africa to practise as an advocate, attorney, notary or conveyancer, unless such person satisfies such court that his name does not appear on any list in the custody of the officer referred to in section 8 and that he has not before or after the commencement of this section been convicted of an offence under section 11(a), (b), (b)bis, (b)ter or (c);

the court of any division of the Supreme Court of South Africa shall, on an application made by the Secretary for Justice, order that the name of any person be struck off the roll or list of advocates, attorneys, notaries or conveyancers to be kept in terms of the relevant law relating to the admission of advocates, attorneys, notaries or conveyancers, if the court is satisfied that such person’s name appears on any list referred to in paragraph (a) or that he has before or after the commencement of this section been convicted of an offence referred to in paragraph (a).

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of subsection (1), the court may admit any person convicted of an offence referred to in that paragraph if he produces a certificate signed by the Minister to the effect that the Minister has no objection to the admission of such person on account of his having been so convicted.

12. (1) If in any prosecution under this Act, or in any civil proceedings arising from the application of the provisions of this Act, in which it is alleged that any person is or was a member or active supporter of any organization, it is proved that he attended any meeting of that organization, or has advocated, advised, defended or encouraged the promotion of its purposes, or has distributed or assisted in the distribution of or caused to be distributed any periodical or other publication or document issued by, on behalf or at the instance of that organization, he shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be or to have been a member or active supporter, as the case may be, of that organization.

(1)bis If in any prosecution for an offence under paragraph (d)bis of section eleven it is proved that the accused person has changed the place of his residence or employment he shall be deemed to have failed to give notice thereof as required by the said paragraph unless the contrary is proved.

(1)ter If in any prosecution for an offence under section 11 (b)ter in which it is alleged that the accused has, at any time and place outside the Republic specified in the charge, undergone, or attempted, consented or taken any steps to undergo any training so specified, it is proved that the accused had left the Republic in contravention of any provision of the Departure from the Union Regulation Act, 1955 (Act No. 34 of 1955), prior to such time, he shall be presumed until the contrary is proved beyond a reasonable doubt, to have undergone or attempted, consented or taken such steps to undergo such training at the said time and place.

(2) A person shall in any prosecution for an offence under paragraph (g) of section eleven be deemed to have convened a gathering in any place if he—

has himself, or through another person, caused written notice to be published, distributed or despatched, inviting the public, or any members of the public, to assemble at a specified time and place, or has encouraged or assisted in the publication, distribution or despatch of such a notice;

has himself, or through another person, orally invited the public or any members of the public so to assemble; or

has taken any active part in making arrangements for the publication, distribution or despatch of such a notice, or in organizing or making preparations for such an assembly.

(3) No person shall be convicted of an offence under paragraph (g) or (g)bis of section eleven, if he satisfies the court that at the time the offence was committed he had no knowledge of the prohibition concerned, unless at the said time the prohibition or particulars thereof had been notified in the Gazette.

(3A) If in any prosecution for a contravention of section 11 (i) it is proved that the accused communicated with a person whose name appears on any list in the custody of the officer referred to in section 8 or in respect of whom any prohibition under this Act or the Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956 (Act No. 17 of 1956), is in force, and that the name of that person corresponds substantially with a name which appears on a list or an extract from a list or in particulars which have been published in the Gazette in terms of section 8 (4) or section 10ter of this Act or section 2 (3)bis (b) of the Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956, it shall be presumed that the accused, when he communicated with that person, knew that the name of that person appeared on a list in the custody of the officer referred to in section 8 or that a prohibition under this Act or the Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956, was in force in respect of that person, as the case may be, unless the contrary is proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

(4) In any prosecution under this Act or in any civil proceedings arising from the application of the provisions of this Act, any document, book, record, pamphlet or other publication or written instrument—

which is proved to have been found in or removed from the possession, custody or control of the accused or any party to the proceedings or of any person who was at any time before or after the commencement of this Act an office-bearer or officer of the organization of which the accused or the said party is alleged to be or to have been an office-bearer, officer, member or active supporter and which has been declared an unlawful organization; or

which is proved to have been found in or removed from any office or other premises occupied or used at any time before or after the commencement of this Act by the organization of which the accused or the said party is alleged to be or to have been an office-bearer, officer, member or active supporter and which has been declared an unlawful organization, or by a person in his capacity as an office-bearer or officer of that organization; or

which on the face thereof has been compiled, kept, maintained, used, issued or published by or on behalf of the organization of which the accused or the said party is alleged to be or to have been an office-bearer, officer, member or active supporter and which has been declared an unlawful organization,

and any photostatic copy of any document, book, record, pamphlet, or other publication or written instrument referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), shall be admissible in evidence against the accused or, as the case may be, the said party to the proceedings as prima facie proof of the contents thereof.

(5) Any list or portion of a list certified by an officer, who certifies that he has been designated by the Minister under section eight to keep in his custody the lists compiled under sub-section (10) of section four and sub-section (2) of section seven, to be a list or portion of a list in his custody under section eight, shall on its mere production in any prosecution under this Act or in any civil proceedings arising from the application of the provisions of this Act, be admissible in evidence as prima facie proof of the contents thereof.

(5)bis A certificate purporting to have been signed by the officer referred to in section eight, to the effect that a name mentioned therein appears on a list in the custody of such officer shall, if such name corresponds substantially to that of an accused person in any prosecution under this Act or to that of any party to any civil proceedings under or arising from the application of the provisions of this Act, on its mere production in such prosecution or civil proceedings, be prima facie proof of the fact that the name of such accused person or of such party, as the case may be, appears on such list.

(6) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law or the common law contained—

whenever two or more persons are in any indictment, summons or charge alleged to have committed at the same time and place, or at the same place and at approximately the same time, offences under this Act or under this Act as applied by any other law, such persons may be tried jointly for such offences on that indictment, summons or charge;

any offence under this Act or under this Act as applied by any other law shall, for the purposes of determining the jurisdiction of a court to try the offence, be deemed to have been committed at the place where it actually was committed and also at any place where the accused happens to be.

14. (1) Any person who is not a South African citizen by birth or descent and who is deemed by the State President, or in the case of an inhabitant of the territory of South-West Africa, by the Administrator of the said territory, to be an undesirable inhabitant of the Republic or of the said territory, as the case may be, because he is a communist or has been convicted of any offence under paragraph (a), (b), (b)bis, (b)ter, (c), (d), (e), (f), (f)ter, (g), (h) or (i) of section 11, may be removed from the Republic or from the said territory, and pending removal, may be detained in custody in the manner provided for the detention, pending removal from the Republic or from the said territory, of persons who are prohibited persons within the meaning of the relevant law relating to the regulation of the admission of persons to the Republic or the said territory; and thereafter such person shall, for the purposes of such law, be deemed to be a prohibited person.

(2) The State President or, in the case of an inhabitant of the territory of South-West Africa, the Administrator of the said territory, may exercise the powers referred to in subsection (1) without prior notice to any person.