summon to his assistance any one or two persons who, in his opinion, may be of assistance at the trial of the case or in the determination of a proper sentence, as the case may be, to sit with him as assessor or assessors: Provided that if an accused is standing trial in the court of a regional division on a charge of murder, whether together with other charges or accused or not, the judicial officer shall at that trial be assisted by two assessors unless such an accused requests that the trial be proceeded with without assessors, whereupon the judicial officer may in his discretion summon one or two assessors to assist him.

(2)        

and he may question the accused in relation to the matters referred to in this paragraph.

'I .................................................................(full name) do hereby swear/solemnly affirm that whenever I may be called upon to perform the functions of an assessor in terms of section 93ter of the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1944, I shall to the best of my ability make a considered finding or decision, or give a considered opinion, as the case may be, according to the evidence tendered in the matter.'

Subsections (6) to (9) inclusive:

[Section 2 of Act 67 of 1998, in so far as it adds subsections (6) to (9) inclusive, has not yet been put into operation]

be given an opportunity to address arguments to the judicial officer on the desirability of such recusal.

at any stage before the completion of the proceedings concerned, the presiding judicial officer may, in the interests of justice and after due consideration of the arguments put forward by the accused person and the prosecutor—

Provided that if the accused person has legal representation and the prosecutor and the accused person consent thereto, the proceedings shall, in the circumstances contemplated in subparagraphs (i), (ii) or (iv), continue before the remaining member or members of the court.