South Africa and the African continent by extension will host an exceptionally successful 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. Consistent with its obligations and undertakings to have this realised, government has identified those critical areas of focus that have received attention to ensure that the tournament in fact becomes a success.
Those areas include safety and security, transport system and the hospitality industry. The administration of justice is also a critical area into which the safety and security feeds. To this end, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development developed and has begun implementing the 2010 FIFA World Cup Administration of Justice Blue Print.
The blue print was preceded by interaction and consultation with various stakeholders, both locally and internationally. We met with the Germans. We had consultations with local stakeholders, namely the South African Police Service (SAPS), National Prosecuting Authority, Legal Aid South Africa (LASA), the Judiciary and the Department of Correctional Services.
The blue print speaks mainly to the following areas: planning, resource mobilisation, execution as well as monitoring and evaluation. We have mobilised resources, both human and non-human as follows:
* A budget of approximately R45 million has been set aside for the implementation of the project
* 54 dedicated courts (34 district and 20 regional courts) across all nine provinces (and in particular in all the host cities) will be available to attend to the FIFA tournament (related) offences
* 1 140 officials will be deployed to the courts
* 35 para-legals
* 93 foreign language interpreters.
The breakdown of court allocation per province will be as follows:
* Limpopo province will have four district and three regional courts, totalling seven
* Mpumalanga province will have four district and one regional courts, totalling four
* Eastern Cape province will have five district and two regional courts, totalling seven
* KwaZulu-Natal province will have two district and one regional courts, totalling three
* Western Cape will have two regional courts
* North West province will have three district and one regional courts, totalling four
* Free State province will have two district and one regional courts, totalling three
* Northern Cape province will have one district and one regional court, totalling two
* Gauteng province will have 14 district and eight regional courts, totalling 22
The courts will operate on a two shift seamless basis with the day shift operational from 08h30 to 16h30 and the night shift operational from 16h30 until 23h00. There will be two magistrates for each dedicated court. The same arrangement applies in the case of clerical staff, prosecutors and LASA officials.
The intention here is avoid burdening our existing court rolls with the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament cases. We appreciate and took into account the fact that this is a unique situation that attracts tourists from all over the globe and there could be challenges attendant. We decided to put measures in place in order to have those cases that may be court ready finalised as soon as it is possible and practical to do so.
There will be no leniency and no different standards will apply. Rules of engagement will be observed the same way as will be the case in other courts. There will not be any mobile courts at the stadia. We will make use of the existing physical infrastructure at our justice facilities.
Any individual whose conduct will be at variance with the law will be dealt with by the agencies of the state in accordance with the laws of the republic and the Constitution. The courts will be operational two weeks preceding the tournament and will run for a further week after the tournament has ended.
Enquiries:
Tlali Tlali
Tell: 012 357 8217 or 021 467 1700
Cell: 082 3333 880
Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
3 February 2010
