It’s all programs go from this week on the Gauteng Division of the Excessive Courtroom as no new civil trial dates will probably be issued to litigants until they’ve proved that they’ve first tried to resolve their points by way of mediation.
Decide President Dunstan Mlambo has issued a remaining directive on the implementation of necessary mediation on this division for all civil trial issues, which has now come into impact. It has been issued following a large consultative course of by the division with legislation our bodies, practitioners, and mediation organisations.
The Workplace of the Chief Justice (OCJ) mentioned it’s aimed toward assuaging the backlogs and constraints that presently plague the division’s civil trial roll. A draft directive was earlier circulated by Decide Mlambo for inputs and feedback from stakeholders. Whereas some had been in opposition to it, the OCJ mentioned this was the perfect path to observe to make sure justice for all.
“The overarching rationale for the directive is to offer an efficient and expeditious litigation platform that ensures entry to justice service, throughout the contemplation of the Structure. As of February 2025, the Division’s Civil Trial roll has trial dates issued as far forward as 2031,” the OCJ mentioned.
It burdened that this example is clearly untenable and infringes on the best to entry to courts, and thus the management has determined to undertake drastic measures to deal with this example. “The directive is borne out of the overwhelming insistence for trial dates by plaintiffs’ authorized representatives for issues that don’t have any triable points and, because of this, don’t have any want for adjudication by a choose,” it defined.
In accordance with the OCJ, an awesome majority of issues on the trial roll of the Gauteng Divisions are settled on the trial day. It mentioned lower than 10% of issues on the trial roll of the division require a choose to resolve them by means of adjudication.
A pattern of issues enrolled in each Courts within the interval March 10 to twenty-eight this 12 months confirmed that out of the 59 issues earlier than the Johannesburg Excessive Courtroom, solely two introduced a triable challenge requiring a choose. In 32 issues, draft orders had been granted in 21 issues, and 11 had been settled. These issues had no triable points; therefore these outcomes, the OCJ mentioned.
In Pretoria, over the identical interval, 339 had been on the trial roll. Solely 11 issues introduced with triable points requiring judicial consideration. In 174 issues, draft orders had been granted, and 9 issues had been settled.
“The statistical outcomes from these weeks illustrate in no unsure phrases that the civil trial roll is inundated with issues that don’t have any triable points and, as such, don’t require a choose to resolve them,” the OCJ mentioned.
The workplace is assured that obligatory mediation is the path to go, as this will even expedite litigation, as a substitute of individuals ready for years to have their points resolved.
Whereas the OCJ mentioned the scarcity of judges and the will increase in instances are the foremost causes for the backlogs on this division, growing the judicial capability by itself won’t resolve the issue attributable to the enrolment of issues that current no triable points.
Decide Mlambo, in the meantime, added that greater than 85% of trial issues which have waited years to be on the trial roll at all times settle upon the arrival of the trial date with out judicial intervention. It was made clear by the OCJ that from this week, no trial dates will probably be issued until the request is accompanied by a mediator’s report.
zelda.venter@inl.co.za
