Programme Director, Mr Malema, Acting Chief Magistrate Mr Mamburu, Acting Magistrate Ms Bevilacqua and members of the judiciary; the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Board, Senior Magistrate Mr Koen and Ms Cardona; the representative from the National Small Claims Court Steering Committee, Senior Magistrate Mr Du Plessis; Ward Councillor, Cllr Crichton, and all Councillors present; Ms Mbeki from the South African Human Rights Commission; Commissioners of the Small Claims Court; officials and staff, and distinguished guests.
Before we begin our formal proceedings, may I kindly ask that all of us rise, in body or in spirit, to recite the Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
“We, the people of South Africa,
Recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.
We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to Heal
the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.”
Thank you.
The Preamble to our Constitution is a living declaration of our journey as a nation and our commitment to justice, equality and unity.
I convey the warm greetings of Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi. She has delegated matters regarding the Small Claims Courts to me.
It is indeed a privilege and an honour for me to again be involved in matters that go to the very heart of access to justice.
I have fond memories of participating in my, then-first, opening of a Small Claims Court in Sutherland in the Northern Cape in October 2010.
The launch of this Small Claims Court today is another step towards enhancing access to justice for all and ensuring that all are equal before the law.
Equality before the law
The promise of equality before the law stands in constant tension with the reality of unequal resources.
On one side, lies the aspiration of impartial justice, symbolised by Lady Justice’s blindfold; on the other, lies the lived experience where wealth and knowledge tilt the scales.
Her blindfold, along with the scales and sword she carries, represents fairness, balance and the authority of the law.
Yet in today’s world, this symbolism often clashes with reality.
Scholars such as Evgeny Pashukanis have long observed that law often reflects the logic of exchange in society.
Legal rights can resemble commodities: they are formally equal on paper, yet in practice their use depends on the resources a person can bring to bear.
Just as in the marketplace, those with greater means are better able to realise the value of their rights, while the poor are left with rights that exist in theory but not in practice.
This is why access to justice cannot be understood merely as the existence of rights, but as the real capacity to exercise them.
If rights remain trapped in the domain of the abstract, they risk serving only those who already possess power.
This is the reality we face.
We need to find innovative ways to help people resolve their disputes in a quick, cost-effective and user-friendly way.
The very need for the existence of Small Claims Courts arises from this contradiction — they transform the clash between ideal and reality into a practical step towards fairness.
Small Claims Courts disrupt this imbalance: they make rights practically usable by stripping away the costs and complexities that too often turn justice into a privilege instead of a guarantee.
In this sense, these courts help close the gap between the formality of rights and their substance in people’s lives.
Councillor Chrichton and his fellow councillors say Booysens is divided into a rich part and a poor part and that the N12 highway is the dividing line between the two. We must ensure that Small Claims Courts are a bridge between the rich and the poor parts of our justice system.
The importance of Small Claims Courts
These are courts where a party does not need to appoint an attorney to represent them.
Members of the community can approach the Clerk of the Small Claims Court, who can assist them to draft a summons.
The summons can either be handed to the respondent or the Clerk of the Court can assist to have the summons delivered by the sheriff.
Although the names of these courts have the word “small” in it, there is nothing small about the impact of these courts in the lives of people.
The current monetary jurisdiction is limited to claims not exceeding R20 000.
This amount will be increased during the current financial year to expand the reach of these courts even further.
The impact of these courts has been significant.
In the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year alone:
- 8 515 new small claims were registered, amounting to claims of R57.9 million;
- 7 729 cases, worth R53.4 million, were finalised; and
- 28 872 matters, totaling more than R194 million, remained ongoing.
These numbers are significant - all the more so given the realities of the challenges we face as a nation.
In my address at the opening of the Sutherland Small Claims Court 15 years ago, I remarked that “access to justice is traditionally understood in terms of legal rights, processes and procedures, often shadowing the socio-economic element, particularly that of poverty.”
The Income & Expenditure Survey 2022/23 which was published by Statistics South Africa in January 2025 is the latest available national dataset on household income and spending patterns.
This survey is the most comprehensive tool South Africa uses to understand inequality, poverty, and consumer behaviour and shows the average annual household income in South Africa in 2023.
In 2023 the national average household income was estimated at around R204, 000 per annum – that equates to R17 000 per month.
The Legal Practice Council’s guideline tariffs of fees in civil matters for 2024 reflected a suggested hourly rate for a Level 3 legal practitioner – that is a legal practitioner with a minimum of 3 years of full-time general practice – of R673 per hour in the Magistrates Court.
If one views this against the national average household income of R17 000 per month, it becomes clear why so many people cannot afford the costs of private legal representation and, even if they can afford it, they cannot run the risk of incurring costs in protracted legal battles.
The interest in, and the demand for, Small Claims Courts is clear.
This is evident by the fact that Small Claims Courts are consistently one of the top five most-searched sites on the Department of Justice’s website - with over 20 000 hits per month.
The impact of poverty on access to justice
We need to ensure that we make justice accessible – all the more so given levels of poverty and inequality in our country.
Rising unemployment, inflation and poverty are not isolated statistics; they are interconnected pressures that reinforce one another.
Each intensifies the vulnerability of households, particularly women, while simultaneously heightening the demand for mechanisms of justice that are swift, simple and affordable.
The strength of Small Claims Courts lies in their ability to intervene precisely where these forces intersect — at the point where economic hardship collides with the human need for fairness.
However, consumer and producer price inflation were both up for a second consecutive month. Headline consumer inflation rose to 3,5%, with rising food prices continuing to place pressure on household budgets.
Poverty also disproportionately affects women.
As August was Women’s Month in South Africa, it provided an opportunity to explore gender gaps in the labour market. The findings show that women remain economically vulnerable.
In the second quarter of 2025, 65% of working-age men were participating in the labour force, compared to 54,9% of women.
This 10,7 percentage point gap translates into millions of women who remain outside the labour force.
What these figures show is that we can realistically expect to see more and more people making use of our Small Claims Courts.
And this is why Small Claims Courts matter – because they provide access to justice to those who would otherwise not have had access due to a lack of resources.
The history of Small Claims Courts
Last month we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the existence of Small Claims Courts in South Africa.
The journey of Small Claims Courts over the past four decades has not been linear.
Each step forward has emerged from grappling with the limitations of the past: from seven courts, serving a narrow section of society, to 418 courts extending justice to previously excluded communities.
Growth has been born out of overcoming contradictions — between accessibility and affordability, between aspiration and reality.
Today, there are 418 courts operating across the country.
We can be truly proud of this achievement. This expansion has dramatically extended access to justice, particularly for previously marginalised communities.
Monetary jurisdiction
Consultations are underway to raise the jurisdiction from R20,000 to up to R50,000. Adjustments must occur more frequently to keep pace with inflation and ensure effectiveness.
We are consulting with the judiciary, with Commissioners and the relevant professional organizations about increasing the jurisdiction amount.
The reality is that an increase in the jurisdiction amount will mean that more matters will be coming to the Small Claims Courts.
We need to ensure that our Small Claims Courts are ready to meet this increased demand.
The last increase in monetary jurisdiction was more than six years ago - with effect from 1 April 2019 - and we need to ensure that an increase in the monetary jurisdiction amount takes place more frequently and keeps pace with inflation.
Any further increase in monetary jurisdiction hereafter will also have to be considered in conjunction with the increase in monetary jurisdiction of the District and Regional Courts.
Making justice user-friendly
Small Claims Court procedures are intentionally simple and user-friendly. Parties present cases directly, assisted by clerks and interpreters when necessary.
A person is given a court date to come and present their case before a Commissioner and bring along any documentation or proof, such as a written contract, a bill of sale, a loan agreement as well as any witnesses to the case.
The respondent will then be given a chance to put his case before the Commissioner, where after the Commissioner may take a decision, which becomes an order of court. The Commissioner can also postpone the case to a future date or dismiss the case.
Any person appearing before a Small Claims Court is usually assisted by the Clerk of the Small Claims Court as well as an interpreter, if they need one.
Appreciating the stakeholders who make Small Claims Courts possible
We thank these Commissioners for their unwavering commitment and their sense of duty. We call on all magistrates, legal practitioners and legal aid attorneys to apply to be appointed as Commissioners in our Small Claims Courts.
We thank the members of Advisory Boards for supporting the work of the Small Claims Courts and ensuring that these courts function effectively and efficiently.
We thank the members of the National Steering Committee on Small Claims Courts who meet with me on a quarterly basis to advise on legislative amendments required to the Small Claims Courts Act and on measures we can take to make the Small Claims Courts more efficient and effective.
A special word of thanks to Prof Mohamed Paleker, who is my co-Chair on the Committee as well as to Adv Roland Suhr, who is the Deputy Chairperson.
We are also looking at various options to train both Commissioners and Clerks of the Small Claims Court.
Booysens Small Claims Court
Booysens’ Small Claims Court is the 417th Small Claims Court established and we have since also established the 418th Small Claims Court in Lenasia.
The Booysens Small Claims Court was proclaimed in June 2025 and acting Magistrate Ms. Adriana Bevilacqua, has been appointed as a Commissioner.
All Commissioners appointed in Gauteng can sit in Booysens and we have Commissioners from Soweto as well.
The Booysens Small Claims Court sits on Wednesdays from 14h00 in Court 5.
We are advised that, thus far, 78 letters of demand have been issued, 13 matters have gone to court; 8 matters have been settled and 3 have been dismissed.
This proves that this Small Claims Court is already making a difference in the lives of the people who come to have their disputes resolved.
Before concluding, it is important to briefly reflect on the socio-economic realities of the communities served by the Booysens Magistrates Court, which underline the importance of this new Small Claims Court.
The communities served by the Booysens Magistrates Court embody the challenges of South Africa today: diversity enriched by migration, vibrant informal economies alongside deep unemployment, resilience amid poverty.
These contradictions are not signs of failure alone; they are signals of change, showing where society is under strain and where renewal must occur.
Establishing this Small Claims Court is not only about settling disputes — it is about intervening where pressures are greatest, to help turn conflict into constructive resolution.
This is a diverse and densely populated urban area with a complex socio-economic profile:
The area is home to a mixed population, including working-class South Africans and significant migrant communities from across the African continent. This diversity contributes to a rich cultural fabric but also presents challenges in service delivery and social cohesion.
Booysens has historically been a hub of small-scale manufacturing, logistics, wholesale, and motor-related businesses. Informal trade, particularly spaza shops, street vending, and backyard rental economies, plays an important role in household survival.
Many households in the court’s jurisdiction fall within low- to lower-middle income brackets. While some formal employment exists in nearby industrial and commercial areas, high levels of informal employment and income insecurity persist.
The broader Johannesburg South region is characterised by above-average unemployment rates, especially among young people and women. Household poverty is compounded by limited access to affordable housing, rising costs of living, and dependence on social grants.
The area faces pressing issues of crime, substance abuse, overcrowding, and deteriorating urban infrastructure. Many households live in informal or sub-divided rental units with insecure tenure. Access to reliable public services—such as waste removal, water, and electricity—remains uneven.
Given these conditions, many residents cannot afford private legal representation. The establishment of a Small Claims Court at Booysens is therefore particularly significant, as it directly responds to the lived realities of people who require affordable, accessible, and user-friendly mechanisms to resolve disputes.
What we inaugurate today is more than a courtroom. It is a response to the living movement of our society — a society shaped by the struggle between hope and hardship, opportunity and exclusion.
By opening this Small Claims Court, we show that justice can adapt, evolve, and respond to the conditions of the people it serves. It is in this way that law becomes not only a reflection of our society, but also a force that helps transform it.
As we now unveil the plaque and request Mr Koen, Ms Cardona and Ms Bevilacqua to come forward to receive their letters and certificates of appointment, let us continue to do whatever we can to make access to justice a reality for all in South Africa.
I thank you.
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