Consistent with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s commitment to transform the civil justice system and broaden access to justice, Minister Michael Masutha, MP, has announced the commencement of the implementation of the court-annexed mediation services. Implementation will commence in the 13 selected courts listed below and will be gradually rolled-out to other courts country-wide.
Mediation serves is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. It is a process through which a mediator to assist the parties to reach a negotiated settlement and thereby avoid huge litigation costs. This could present both time and cost savings for both parties.
It is not requirement for parties involved in the mediation process to be represented by a lawyer. However, a party may choose to be represented and pay the legal fees of their legal practitioner. The responsibility of the mediator remains that of ensuring a fair and structured process with a level playing field, irrespective of whether parties are represented by lawyers or not.
It saves money and time which would otherwise have been incurred in lengthy court processes. Although the mediator is entitled to charge a fixed tariff in terms of the mediation rules, the cost is much lower than that of court litigation. The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services fix the tariffs that mediators may charge and the amounts are published in the Gazette from time to time. This is to make sure that mediators to not overcharge for their services. In the normal court process, litigants carry costs on their own – however, through this form of dispute resolution will require that both parties contribute equally to the cost of mediation.
Another significant benefit of mediation is that it is less adversarial and promotes restorative justice in that the disputes is resolved amicably to the satisfaction of both parties to a dispute.
The department has trained over 30 mediation clerks who have been appointed at the selected sites to assist litigants with steps that they must take to initiate mediation and inform them of the payable tariffs for mediation. The clerks will also assist the public to choose mediators of their choice from a panel of mediators who have been accredited by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.
The following Magistrates’ Courts will provide mediation service in respect of magisterial districts and sub-districts in which they exercise jurisdiction.
Gauteng province
Johannesburg, Kagiso, Krugersdorp, Palmridge, Pretoria North, Sebokeng, Soshanguve and Soweto.
North West province
Mmabatho, Temba and Pochefstroom.
In the next financial year, the department will rollout these services to other provinces and continue to train more personnel to ensure that more people are assisted in time.
Enquiries:
Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga
Cell: 083 641 8141
E-mail: Mediaenquiries@justice.gov.za
