374 Person granted award or order debarred from further civil remedy A convicted person against whom an award or order has been made in terms of this Part shall not be liable at the suit of the injured party in whose favour the award or order was made to any other civil proceedings other than proceedings for the enforcement of the award or order in respect of— (a) the loss or diminution of the right or the personal injury in respect of which the award of compensation was made; or (b) the restitution of the property in respect of which the order was made; as the case may be. 375 Part XIX not to derogate from other laws relating to compensation or restitution (1) This Part shall not limit the operation of any other law relating to compensation for loss or diminution of rights or for personal injury caused by offences or relating to the restitution of stolen or other property. (2) The fact that a person failed to apply for an award or order in terms of this Part or was refused such an award or order shall not affect his right to claim any compensation or the restitution of any property in any civil proceedings. PART XX P ARDON AND C OMMUTATION 376 Saving of President’s prerogative of mercy Nothing in this Act shall affect the prerogative of mercy of the President. 377 President may commute sentence (1) In any case in which the President exercises the prerogative of mercy conditionally in respect of an o ffender under sentence of death, he may, without the consent of the offender, commute the punishment to any punishment provided by law. (2) Any such commutation shall be signified in writing to the Attorney-General, who shall thereupon allow the offender the benefit of the conditional pardon and make an order that he be punished in the manner directed by the President and such allowance and order shall have the effect of a valid sentence passed by the court before which the offender was convicted. 378 Exercise of prerogative of mercy in respect of offenders under sentence of imprisonment The President may, in any case not referred to in section three hundred and seventy-seven, exercise the prerogative of mercy in respect of an offender under sentence of imprisonment without the consent of the offender and— (a) where he does so by suspending the operation of the whole or any part of such sentence, he may suspend the sentence for such period and upon such conditions as could a court acting in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section three hundred and fifty-eight, and the provisions of that section shall thereafter apply, mutatis mutandis, in respect of such suspension as though the sentence had been suspended by the court which imposed the sentence upon the offender; (b) any punishment substituted by the President shall have effect as though it were a valid sentence passed by the court before which the offender was convicted. 379 Reference of case by Minister for appeal or opinion Where— (a) a person convicted of an offence has exhausted all legal remedies by way of appeal or review in regard to his conviction or the sentence imposed upon him, or where such remedies are no longer available to him; and (b) it appears to the Minister that there is further evidence which, if true, might reasonably affect the conviction or the sentence; the Minister may— (i) refer to the Supreme Court any particular point arising in the case on which the Minister desires the Court’s opinion, in which event the Supreme Court shall consider the point and furnish the Minister with its opinion thereon; or (ii) refer the whole case to the Supreme Court, in which event the case shall be treated for all purposes as an appeal or fresh appeal, as the case may be, to the Supreme Court by the convicted person and the Supreme Court may exercise any of the powers conferred upon it by the Supreme Court Act [Chapter 7:13], including the power to hear further evidence or to remit the case to the court or tribunal of first instance for further hearing and the power to review the proceedings in the case. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a special verdict in terms of section 28 of the Mental Health Act [Chapter 15:06], that a person was mentally disordered or defective at the time he did the act or made the omission alleged against him, shall be regarded as a conviction.