On Friday 27 May 2022, the Constitutional Court handed down a ground-breaking judgment in the matter of Minister of Police and Others v Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Limited, wherein it was declared, inter alia, that any firearm licence owner who has failed to timeously apply to renew their licence in terms of section 24 Firearms Control Act, 60 of 2000 (“FCA”), is not barred from applying for a licence in terms of the applicable provision for which the firearm is intended to be licensed.
The judgment confirmed that a firearm, irrespective of whether the firearm is licensed or not, remains the property of the owner until such time that it is destroyed in terms of the FCA.
In the case of a lapsed license, the continued possession of the firearm would be unlawful. However, the conclusion must not be drawn that the owner may not apply for a renewal licence to possess the firearm.
The absence of a licence implies that the owner’s possession will be unlawful until such time a valid licence is issued. Thus, if the owner continues to possess the firearm pending the outcome of a firearm licence renewal application, they will be guilty of an offence in terms of the FCA. The FCA does not impose an obligation on the owner to surrender the firearm to the police, but such a step may be the only way in which a firearm owner could avoid committing an offence in terms of the FCA.
The judgment had further implications, namely that a prospective gun owner or a gun owner wishing to renew their licence may apply for a temporary authorisation to possess a firearm once a licence has been approved, but before the licence card is ready for collection.
This entails that a system generated A4 paper will be issued upon request at the police station where your license was approved, which allows a person to take lawful possession of the firearm whilst the licence card is still in the process of being printed.
This is a welcomed win for all gun owners across South Africa!
By Pieter Fouché (Director) and David Maritz (Associate) | Commercial Litigation Department
Disclaimer:
All information and material published on this website is for the purpose of general information only and does not constitute nor must it be construed as legal advice. Specialist legal advice must be sought in respect of a specific legal matter. We accept no liability, damage, loss and/or responsibility, whether direct or consequential, for any actions taken or failure to take any actions, based on the content of any such publication.
© 2022 Klagsbrun Edelstein Bosman Du Plessis Inc. All rights reserved.