Exposure to the daily struggles of the most marginalised people in our society and the lack of access to justice which most South Africans have to endure, can foster a well-rounded understanding of how the law operates. This can give true meaning to the transformation of the legal profession."88 This article examined two distinct forms of community service listed in the new regulations: (a) those pertaining to candidate legal practitioners and (b) those for legal practitioners. In relation to the former, the key conclusions reached are that the eight hours per year prescribed for candidates' vocational training are woefully inadequate to make any meaningful impact on promoting access to justice or developing the skills of the candidate. In addition, the designated time does not create work opportunities. Thus, a totally different and greatly expanded community service for candidates is called for. In relation to the form of community service for legal practitioners, the 40 hours per annum are considered to be a positive development in so far as they are formalising a duty on legal practitioners to perform appropriate community service. While still subject to a number of uncertainties, such as how the standard of work will be appropriately monitored, the gazetting of this aspect of the regulations is welcomed. This article argued that despite it not being the norm in some European civil law systems, compulsory community service in South Africa, as in various other African jurisdictions, is appropriate. © 2024 Juta and Company Ltd. All rights reserved.
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