• Wishing all SAMLA members  a safe, happy and healthy 2021. 
• Unfortunately, Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on all of our lives. SAMLA wishes those who have lost loved ones, esteemed colleagues, friends and associates our deepest sympathies, and strength at this time.
• SAMLA also extends sincere  thanks to the countless members of the medical and allied professions who are working, often under challenging circumstances,  to save the lives of those in their hands.
• The SAMLA AGM was held 5 December 2020. Amendments to the MOI were approved; Mr Trevor Reynolds was made an honorary member; Mrs Carlien van der Merwe's appointment to the Board was ratified; Dr Sharon Muyaka's position as Deputy Chair (Health) was ratified; Mrs Barbara Donalsdon's position as convenor of the Credentialling Committee was approved;  and the annual report of the Chair was adopted.
• Keep up with SAMLA by joining our Facebook page and our LinkedIn page.
• The SAMLA Review, our newsletter, was distributed to our mailing list. Watch out for the next issue!
• Superior Court dates and Recess dates 2021 - click here
• Do you know that your professional indemnity may not cover you for your medico-legal work, even if you have declared that you conduct such work? Contact your insurer to check.
• Check out SAMLA's projects here.  We have an RAF special interests group; mediations;and  a quantification interest group.

SAMLA offers National Courses on Medico-Legal Practice which  have been designed and presented by the Faculty of SAMLA and accredited by the Faculty of Law at the University of Cape Town. 

Foundations in Medico-Legal Practice is a short course. It cannot be viewed in part but only as a complete course. The course can be attended for CPD purposes, or it can be completed by attendees who write a once-off multiple choice examination and, if successful, are issued with a certificate of completion from the Faculty of Law at UCT. Completion of the Foundations Course in Medico-Legal Practice also qualifies attendees who are members of SAMLA for registration as medico-legal practitioners. (Note that SAMLA recognises prior learning as well, and completion of the Foundations Course is not the only route to being able to qualify as a medico-legal practitioner).Thirty CPD points are awarded on completion.

The 10 Practical Workshops in Medico-Legal Practice can be done individually or as a whole. The courses may be attended for CPD purposes or, if all assignments that are assigned are completed successfully by the attendees, a certificate of completion from UCT is awarded for each course completed.

Attendees who complete successfully the Foundations Course in Medico-Legal practice as well as the 10 Practical Workshops qualify for a Certificate of Competence in Medico-Legal Practice issued by the Faculty of Law at UCT.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the courses are all now online. 

Azlyn Creative is the service provider responsible for the administrative management of the National Courses.  The costs of the courses have been determined by Azlyn Creative and not by SAMLA. For all information, registration, payment, and access to the courses, please go to http://samla.co.za

All Members of SAMLA are invited to apply to appear on SAMLA's Register of Medico-Legal Practitioners.

A Medico-Legal Practitioner is an individual who works in the medico-legal space, who is in good standing with his or her primary professional regulatory body  and who  has volunteered him/herself to peer review, and who  has committed him/herself  to SAMLA’s unique code of conduct in medico-legal practice. For more details, you can read our MOI in which these details are specified. 

To appear on the SAMLA Register of Medico-Legal Practitioners,  one submits one’s credentials to SAMLA’s Credentialling Committee which comprises senior members of the legal and healthcare professions who have extensive experience in medico-legal practice. If the applicant’s credentials satisfy the requirements specified, then that applicant may register as a Medico-Legal Practitioner.  All Members of SAMLA who appear on the register of Medico-Legal Practitioners commit themselves to SAMLA’s code of professional conduct. 

The proposed tiers of registration as Medico-Legal Practitioners have been circulated to the broader membership for consideration, but not yet been established. We envision three tiers - an entry level, a senior level and an advanced level, to reflect experience and seniority, and to promote a development trajectory.

What is really important is that SAMLA is not, and does not intend ever to be a regulatory body. We do not, in any way, see our role as supervisory. The registers are simply lists of persons in the medico-legal field who voluntarily show that they have pursued learning in this field, demonstrate competency,  are willing to demonstrate on-going learning in the medico-legal sphere by earning specific points in medico-legal CPD annually, and are willing to commit themelves to a code of conduct.