SA LAW COMMISSION INVESTIGATION INTO AIDS LAW REFORM

Issued by: The Secretary, SA Law Commission, Pretoria

MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN LAW COMMISSION ON ITS INVESTIGATION INTO ASPECTS OF THE LAW RELATING TO AIDS (Project 85) - URGENT INTERIM PROPOSALS

The Project Committee of the South African Law Commission that is investigating AIDS law reform has decided to make urgent interim proposals to the Commission.

The South African Law Commission has been investigating aspects of law reform relating to HIV/AIDS since 1993. Since then extensive research has been done. Evidence was heard from interest groups, and a discussion document (Working Paper 58) was published for general information and comment during 1995, The comments on the Working Paper reflected differences of opinion between interest groups, inter alia regarding the Commission's basic preliminary conclusion that an AID-specific Act (containing a general prohibition against unfair dicrimination on grounds of HIV infn) was warranted.

After the terms of members of the Project Committee had expired and the appointment of a new representative Law Commission at the beginning of 1996, new appointments were made to the Project Committee. The Committee's mandate is to assist in resolving the differences of opinion between interest groups and developing a draft report for submission to the Minister of Justice.

The Committee is pursuing a consultative process in an attempt to resolve the differences. In the meantime, and as an urgent interim measure before submitting any further reports, it has identified certain matters in regard to HIV/AIDS which warrant urgent intervention and which, from a scientific, medical and legal viewpoint, appear to be relatively uncontroversial. These include:

• The statutory implementation of a compulsory specification for condoms inn accordance with that of the International Organization for Standards.
• A prohibition on the use of non-disposable syringes, needles and hazardous material.
• The implementation, in relevant occupational legislation, of universal workplace infection control measures (universal precautions).
• The amendment of the Regulations in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992, to protect privacy in regard to HIV/AIDS (and other medical conditions) while at the same time establishing a reliable mechanism for the collection of essential epidemiological information.
• The promulgation of a national policy on testing for HIV/AIDS.
• The amendment, finalisation and promulgation of the draft Regulations relating to Communicable Diseases and the Notification of Notifiable Medical Conditions 1993, (which do not include AIDS as a communicable disease).

Preliminary proposals regarding the above matters are presented in a discussion paper that has been released by the Commission. It is emphasised that this Paper was published for discussion and that it represents proposals for an interim report. It does not contain the final views of the Commission but represents the preliminary views of the Commission's Project Committee, drawing on experience in a variety of fields. The paper has been widely circulated to interested bodies and parties and comments upon it are awaited by Tuesday 15 October 1996.

ISSUED BY THE SECRETARY, S A LAW COMMISSION, PRETORIA

DATE: 3 OCTOBER 1996

CONTACT FOR ENQUIRIES ABOUT MEDIA STATEMENT: (Mrs) A-M HAVENGA (012) 322-6440