A police officer has been given a committal warrant to make sure Jackie Selebi begins his jail sentence, but it will be up to the former top cop's doctor to decide whether he may be moved from hospital, the justice department said on Monday.

"A determination will be made at the time of executing the warrant as to whether he will in fact be moved to a correctional facility or be kept where he is (for) the moment," said Justice Department spokesperson Tlali Tlali.

The officer was given a warrant of committal, which enforces a court judgment.

In Selebi's case this means that he serves a 15-year jail term after his appeal against his corruption conviction failed in the Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday.

Selebi had watched the judgment on television at his home and collapsed when he heard the outcome, his attorney Wynanda Coetzee said at the time.

He was taken to hospital in Pretoria and was supposed to have started serving his sentence on Sunday.

Coetzee met the Registrar of the High Court in Johannesburg on Monday. There was no court appearance by the lawyers, and the time the former police number one had to report for sentence was not extended.

Tlali said: "If he is to remain where he is ... his doctor will have to indicate in writing that, based on his medical condition, he cannot be transported to prison and for how much longer he would have to remain at the current facility."

This will then have to be conveyed to the department of correctional services.

The manager of the Jakaranda Hospital said their privacy policy meant it could not say anything about any patients.

Coetzee said a medical report had indicated that Selebi's episode on Friday was as a result of a long standing condition.

Coetzee would not say what this was.

Selebi was found guilty of corruption for accepting money from convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti and giving Agliotti benefits such as showing him a British drug investigation report.

Selebi was also president of Interpol.

The National Prosecuting Authority said Selebi's lawyers had approached the agency on Saturday to say he might not be able to present himself to correctional services on Sunday.

They were told to approach the court Registrar.