for Justice and Constitutional Development, on Tuesday, 29 May 2007, National
Assembly, Parliament
29 May 2007
Chairperson,
Honourable Members,
Distinguished guests,
Comrades and friends,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to welcome and recognise the Deputy Chief Justice, Dikgang
Moseneke, Judge President Hlophe, members of the judiciary and the magistracy,
Commissioners, members of our associate institutions, such as the National
Prosecuting Authority and the Legal Aid Board, and our special guests today �
aspirant women judges and the law students that participated in the moot court
competition we hosted last night.
Honourable Members would know that it is the Child Protection Week and as
Government we are committed to improving the lives of our people, in particular
to protect our children and promote their wellbeing. By celebrating Child
Protection every year for a week, we reaffirm our commitment to the course.
The 2007 MTEF allocation
Chairperson,
A total budget of R8,5 billion is allocated to the department for the
2007/08 financial year. Of this budget allocation, R2,9 billion is allocated to
the court services programme, R1,8 billion is for the NPA and R925 million is
for the Chapter 9 institutions. The budget allocated to the Court Services
programme include an amount of R467 million to improve infrastructure.
An additional R473 million has been allocated for the 2007/08 financial
year. Of this additional amount R88 million is for the modernisation of the
administration of justice and R75 million is for the reduction of case
backlogs.
Administration of Courts
Honourable Members,
As shown above, a large part of our budget � R2,9 billion is allocated to
Courts. Our greatest challenge in the administration of Justice is the
establishment of an efficient and well capacitated court system. To date 226
Court Managers have been appointed and we have also created forty-seven (47)
magistrates' positions during the 2005/6 financial year to increase the number
of magistrates to 1 912. The budget allocation of the NPA is also being
increased gradually in order to realise our aim of appointing two prosecutors
per court for serious offences that are heard in the Regional Courts.
With regard to modernisation, we have implemented the following
programmes:
* The e-scheduler system, being one of the most prominent IT innovations of
the department, has been implemented in 436 Courts. There are 3 389 court
officials, including magistrates and prosecutors who are already using the
system. The system allows the user to generate information on Courts. It also
enables the Courts to schedule cases properly, identify and address
backlogs.
* Another milestone is the roll out of a digital recording system in courts.
The system has been rolled out to all High Courts and 330 Magistrates' Courts.
The rollout of the outstanding 432 courts will be finalised by September 2007.
The system improves the quality of the recording of court proceedings, thus
greatly eliminating human error which in turn can contribute to inaccurate data
and a miscarriage of justice. The judicial officers would attest to the
convenience of the speed with which such recordings take place.
* We are also rolling out the Justice Deposit Accounts System (JDAS) to all
courts. The system provides, among others, for the payment of maintenance
monies directly into the beneficiaries' bank accounts. This will help reduce
the long queues at the courts.
* Through the increased budget we will also improve the court infrastructure to
provide adequate accommodation to all court officials. It is also prudent to
provide separate offices for prosecutors where it is not possible to
accommodate them within the courts.
Chairperson,
In terms of court performance, I am happy to report that the Case Flow
Management (CFM) systems introduced is beginning to yield positive results.
During an audit conducted on outstanding cases countrywide at the end of
November 2006, it was determined that the cycle times of cases in the Regional
Courts have been reduced by 2 months from the previous year.
In the High Courts, it is clear that during 2006, 84% of cases have been
finalised within three years of first appearance in the District Court compared
to a mere 53% the previous year. The audit on outstanding cases conducted at
the end of November 2006 indicated that the cycle times of all high court cases
have been shortened by 3 months.
Honourable Members,
To reduce the high number of outstanding cases on the court rolls, we
initiated a special National Backlog project through which additional judicial
officers, prosecutors and court interpreters were recruited to increase
capacity through the establishment of additional courts. An additional 20
magistrates and 20 prosecutors have been appointed for these courts. The
project, which commenced on 1 November 2006, involves all the role players,
namely the judiciary, the prosecuting authority, Legal Aid Board, South African
Police Service (SAPS) and Correctional Services. The project was launched with
the aim to reduce court backlogs by 20% in the District, Regional and High
Courts and to reduce the appeal backlog by 40%. The initial focus in terms of
the backlog reduction project was on the five top backlog Regional court
hotspot sites. The impact of these courts from 1 November 2006 until the end of
December 2006 is remarkable: 263 cases have been finalised with a conviction
rate of 78% and 151 cases have been withdrawn totalling 414 cases finalised in
an average court hours count of 4h05. The project has been extended to an
additional 14 hotspot sites in February 2007.
Simultaneously we have tackled the appeal backlogs at those High Court
Divisions with the most outstanding appeal matters. Practising Advocates,
through the General Council of the Bar and the specific Bar associations in
Johannesburg and Pretoria, have offered their services at no cost (pro bono) in
order for us to implement additional appeal courts. This has been a very
successful project. The following statistics are illustrative of the efforts
put in to assist in dealing with the appeal matters:
* Appeals enrolled between 26 March � 16 April 2007: 103
* Appeals finalised 26 March � 16 April 2007: 95
* Appeals postponed 26 March � 16 April 2007: 8
* The 95 finalised appeals involved 107 Appellants
* 227 more appeals have been set down until 2 July 2007.
Chairperson,
I wish to convey our gratitude to the advocates who sacrificed their time
and income to contribute to the reduction of these case backlogs. In the same
vein, I also wish to thank the legal practitioners who conduct trials in the
156 Small Claims Courts established countrywide. I invite other legal
practitioners in other parts of the country to make a similar gesture for the
benefit of society.
Honourable Members,
From the study of other legal systems we are convinced that we will not be
able to eradicate the case backlogs through the use of the conventional methods
of the formal court system only. Less rigid, inexpensive, speedy and informal
methods for resolving less serious offences and civil disputes are known for
their success in some of the older democracies. It is against this background
that we are in dialogue with the NPA, the lower court judiciary, the
Institution of Traditional Leaders and relevant community structures to
finalise a framework for the establishment and functioning of the
community-based structures to resolve disputes that do not have to be resolved
through the state machinery. I will soon be approaching Cabinet on the draft
framework for its guidance.
Whilst the case backlog project provides quick solutions in dealing with
case backlogs, we are hopeful that long-term solutions will result from the
holistic Criminal Justice Review programme implemented by the Justice Crime
Prevention and Security Cluster
Honourable Members,
In order to truly provide access to justice, it is necessary to change the
old apartheid-drawn jurisdictional areas of the Lower courts which continue to
limit access to justice. In terms of the current areas of jurisdiction, most of
the magistrates' courts in the rural and former black townships exercise
limited jurisdiction, have no staff or budgets of their own and are entirely
dependent on the main courts areas to deliver essential justice services. This
arrangement has a negative effect on the poor and vulnerable living in rural
areas by compelling them to travel long distances to the cities in search of
justice. In reversing this practice we have set ourselves a target of
conferring, in this financial year, 24 of the 90 Branch Courts countrywide with
their own areas of jurisdiction to hear all types of cases and provide a full
range of services within their locality.
These 24 courts are in the following areas, among others: Alexandra,
Mamelodi, Midrand and Soweto in Gauteng, Emadadeni and Intuzuma in
KwaZulu-Natal, Ezibeleni in the Eastern Cape, Ekangala in Mpumalanga, Northam
in Limpopo, Galeshewe and Poffader in Northern Cape and Bluedowns and
Khayelitsha in Western Cape. The resources, both human and financial currently
concentrated at the main courts, will be rationalised to provide adequate
capacity at these 24 courts. By conferring jurisdiction to these 24 courts an
estimated 7 million people served by these courts collectively will be spared
the hardships and pain of enduring long distances and high costs to access
courts and services outside their areas of residence. We hope to finalise the
position of the outstanding 66 Branch courts in due course. The most important
thing is that we begin to break with the apartheid patterns which were based on
segregation policies of the past.
There are 230 branch courts countrywide, 116 of which are located within
police stations and prisons. 6 were established on private property (farms).
Only 2 of the 6 Periodical Courts on private property continue to function. In
their current form, Periodical Courts provide services relating to criminal
trials only and exclude maintenance, domestic violence, deceased estates and
children's court enquiries, which are services needed most by the vulnerable
members of society. As part of the review of the Lower courts the department
will substitute the Periodical Courts established on farms, police stations and
prisons with mobile service centres within the communities. These centres will
be capacitated to provide a full range of services.
Honourable Members,
The department has initiated a programme called Operation Sesifikile to
expand the services of the Office of the Master of the High Court to rural and
other remote areas to reach the vulnerable members of society. Through this
programme, the Offices of the Master countrywide have been increased from 6 to
14. Magistrates' offices are now used as service points in areas where there
are no offices dedicated to the Office of the Master. Through this programme
legally qualified officers are appointed to substitute the role previously
performed by magistrates in relation to the Black deceased estates. This is to
ensure compliance with the ruling of the Constitutional Court which declared
certain provisions of the now repealed Black Administration Act null and void
in so far as they provided for a different dispensation for the administration
of deceased estates of Blacks who died intestate.
The department is developing an Integrated Administration of Deceased
Estates (IADE) programme which is an IT solution to manage deceased estates. We
hope to roll out this programme from the beginning of July 2007 to all Masters
Offices countrywide. The system will enable the Masters Office to eliminate
double registration of estates based on an ID number verification tool.
The department will ensure alignment of all IT solutions across the
department for greater efficiency.
National Prosecuting Authority
Honourable Members,
The National Prosecuting Authority is reshaping itself by focusing on its
mandate and the execution of its Strategy 2020. The NPA envisages a future in
which it will not only be an effective provider of prosecution services, but
one that fulfils its role in building a better and safer South Africa, by being
advocates for justice as lawyers for the people of this country.
The budget allocation for the Directorate of Special Operations, included in
the National Prosecuting Authority's allocation for the financial year 2007/08,
amounts to R 373,1 million. This represents a significant increase from the
previous financial year's budget. It is also important to note that for the
first time the respective allocations for the Directorate of Special Operations
(DSO) and the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) have been split up. This will allow
for more meaningful review and scrutiny of the performance of these two units
by the legislature.
Honourable Members,
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is one of our success stories over the
last few years. The SIU investigation into irregular social grants with the
Department of Social Development has produced phenomenal results. The value
added by the SIU is recognised by, among others, the increase of its annual
budget from the R25 million four years ago to the present R93 million, and it
will grow to nearly R150 million over the next two years. This big increase in
capacity will ensure that the SIU plays an even more vital role in government's
fight against corruption.
Allow me to announce that through the Asset Forfeiture Unit nearly R120
million has already been deposited in the special account to be used to fight
crime (the Criminal Asset Recovery Account � CARA). R77 million was paid out
last year towards centres for battered women and to boost the capacity of the
SAPS, NPA and South African Revenue Service (SARS) to deal with crime.
Honourable members, regarding the Cabinet's decision on the findings of the
Khampepe Commission, the department will soon finalise legislation to give
effect to the recommendations.
Honourable Members,
I am pleased to announce that we have, through the Office of the Chief State
Law Advisor, commenced with an exercise to review municipal by-laws to ensure
that they are consistent with our Constitution. The Ceres Municipality in the
Western Cape is the first to benefit from this programme. The state law
advisers will extend their services to other municipalities as well. This
initiative will ensure that service delivery and developmental needs of the
municipalities are not hindered by the unjust past by-laws which are still part
of the statute books. To ensure that this is effected seamlessly, synergies
with provincial law advisers will also be explored.
Legal Aid Board
Honourable Members,
The Legal Aid Board, in its role as a public defender in criminal matters,
is of significant importance in defending indigent accused persons, and
protecting the rights of children. To this end, for the financial year ended 31
March 2007, it is estimated that the Legal Aid Board defended and protected the
interests of indigent or vulnerable citizens in approximately 400 000 cases - a
growth in new matter case load in excess of 15% as compared to the 2005/06
financial year.
The 2007/08 grant of R574 million allocated to the Legal Aid Board will
ensure the continued provision of the public defender services across all
courts in South Africa. This represents an additional R20 million appropriated
to the Legal Aid Board for the 2007/08 financial year. This appropriation will
enable service delivery improvements and increases to the legal services
delivery capacity at the Legal Aid Board's justice centres around the
country.
Honourable Members,
We are implementing an extensive public education programme through which
court officials in provinces are assigned the added responsibility of educating
the community on their rights. Through these campaigns we will create awareness
of the programmes that seek to improve the lives of our people such as the
Victims' Charter, Operation Isondlo and services of the Master.
I am aware of the concerns which have been raised regarding the salary
disparity among the legally qualified personnel in the different justice
institutions. A task team comprising officials from the department, the
National Treasury and Department of Public Service and Administration has been
established to investigate the harmonisation and alignment of salaries of these
officials. I will report back on the outcome of this exercise in the near
future.
Transformation of the Judiciary
Honourable Members,
I am pleased to report that we have made progress in certain aspects of the
transformation of the judicial system, and I wish to thank the Chief Justice
and the Heads of Courts for their support of our transformation initiatives.
Two Bills, the Judicial Service Commission Amendment Bill and the Judicial
Education Institute Bill, which are currently before Parliament, are the
product of intense and constructive engagement between the department and the
judiciary.
The proposed South African Judicial Education Institute Bill will, for the
first time in our history, introduce a state sponsored judicial education
programme for judges. The proposed Judicial Education Institute will provide
training for both judges and magistrates. The judicial education framework will
go a long way towards building our evolving jurisprudence which has become a
point of reference internationally and will improve the quality of the courts'
judgments.
The Judicial Service Commission Amendment Bill which, inter alia, introduces
a complaint handling mechanism for judges, will enhance judicial
accountability. The proposed legislation also requires judges to declare their
financial interest to enhance the integrity and independence of the judiciary.
I look forward to the enactment of these important Bills during this year.
In addition to the above Bills already introduced in Parliament, there are a
number of other Bills on our Legislation Programme which have been identified
for introduction this year, including a Bill that seeks to transform certain
aspects of the Regional Courts. Historically the Regional Courts were designed
to deal with criminal cases only, and were established to hear political trials
and cases that emanated from the struggle for freedom. As part of transforming
the lower court system we developed legislation that confers civil jurisdiction
to the Regional Courts. Not only will the envisaged legislation enhance access
to justice for our people, but will address certain elements of the Divorce
Courts in terms of which they continue to exercise territorial jurisdiction
designed by the apartheid government to serve only the Black population of the
country. There is support from the judiciary to move ahead with this initiative
and I will revert to Parliament on this matter.
Further, the department is also finalising a consolidated policy framework
document to address other outstanding aspects relating to the transformation of
the judicial system. These include the rationalisation of the High Courts, the
harmonisation of the appointment procedures for judges and magistrates and
aspects relating to language usage in courts. The draft policy document, which
I hope to submit to Cabinet later this year, will form the basis for
legislation to address the above aspects to ensure a transformed and efficient
administration of justice. Certain aspects of the discussion document will be
discussed at the conference of magistrates being planned for sometime in August
this year.
Chairperson,
I am proud to announce the special measures we initiated with the judiciary
to increase the pool from which more women may be eligible for appointment to
the bench. Twenty-three women drawn from the magistracy and the legal
profession will undergo a specially designed judicial education programme,
commencing from 4 June 2007. Future acting appointments may be made from the
pool of those who completed the course successfully. I believe that the
programme will address the under representation of females on the bench, which
currently reflects only 16% of the 203 judges' establishment.
In conclusion, I wish to thank everyone working in and with the department.
I particularly want to thank the department's staff and leadership for working
hard towards fulfilling our Constitutional mandate � to ensure access to
justice for all. I would like to recognise the Deputy Minister, Advocate Johnny
de Lange, the Director-General, Advocate Menzi Simelane, the Chief Operations
Officer, Dr Khotso de Wee, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Fatima
Chohan and members of the Committee for their outstanding work, the Judiciary
and the Magistracy, Chairpersons of the Chapter 9 institutions, and all our
Civil Society partners.
Honourable Members I ask you to support this budget vote.
I thank you!
Issued by: Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development
29 May 2007
