Mr Henri van Rooyen, President of the Free State Law Society
Mr Joseph Mhlambi, Vice President of the Free State Law Society
Ms Alme Stanton, Chief Executive Officer of the Free State Law Society
Mr Raj Daya, Chief Executive Officer of the Law Society of South Africa
Mr Philip van der Merwe, Editor of De Rebus
Members of the Society
Honourable guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Dit is vir my 'n groot plesier om as kwasi-Vrystater, met diep familie wortels in Kroonstad se wêreld, vanaand hier te wees.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Jeff Radebe, was looking forward to attend and share some thoughts with you. However, matters of Cabinet and Parliament unfortunately make it impossible for him to be here today. Although our business is not scheduled by order of court, as court rolls are, we have, in Parliament, what is known as two and three line whips!
In brief, a three line whip means that attendance of Parliamentary proceedings for that day is compulsory and if you don't. Well, the rest I leave to your imagination, save to say that a Chief Whip with a Whip in hand, is a formidable combination! In fact, today was a three line whip in Parliament to recommend names to serve on the South African Broadcasting (SABC) board. Fortunately for me I am in the presence of not one, but about 200 lawyers to assist me in working out a proper defence on a pro bono basis.
As we gather, there is great expectation that the transformation initiatives, in both the judiciary and the legal profession, will be accelerated. I intend therefore to reflect on some of the milestones achieved and the changes anticipated in the not too distant future.
We have experienced significant changes in the judicial sector. We have in the past few days bid farewell to the former Chief Justice, Pius Langa and four constitutional judges and we welcomed this week, at the helm of the judiciary, Justice Sandile Ngcobo, as well as judges Khampepe, Jafta, Froneman and Mogoeng to the Constitutional Court. We congratulate them. As government we will continue to support the judiciary, affirm its independence and uphold the rule of law as pillars on which our democratic State is premised.
In his budget speech in June this year, Minister Radebe made a commitment that the Superior Courts Bill and the Legal Practice Bill, which are central to the transformation of these sectors, would be finalised this year. The Department is still on course to meet its commitment. The Superior Courts Bill will be submitted to the Chief Justice in a matter of weeks if not days.
There have been some delays with the Legal Practice Bill occasioned by consultative processes around certain policy positions. During September 2009, the department brought together representatives of the General Council of the Bar (GCB), the Independent Advocates and the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA), with a view to find consensus on some of these positions. Work is continuing in this regard.
As you are aware, the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Act of 2008 empowers Regional Magistrates to preside in civil matters. Processes are underway to pave the way for the implementation of the Act. Prime among those is the need to build capacity at Regional Court level to deal with civil and divorce matters. The Divorce Courts, as they currently exist, will be subsumed under the regional court divisions. This will address the jurisdictional challenges in terms of which litigants have to travel to remote courts to get legal redress.
The Minister has recently written to the Law Society of South Africa with a request to identify practitioners with experience and expertise in civil law who are willing to avail themselves to be considered for appointment as acting Regional Magistrates, as a way of providing interim capacity to the Regional Courts. The formal training of magistrates and legal practitioners around this legislation and other areas of judicial work will be the responsibility of the newly established South African Judicial Education Institute. Preparations are at a very advanced stage for the Institute to commence with its work. We are greatful to the members of the profession who availed themselves to serve on the Council of the Institute.
The Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Act of 2008, will, in the medium to long term, reduce the work load in our high courts. In this way, divorce and other family law matters and civil disputes of an amount determined from time to time by Notice in the Gazette, will be within the jurisdiction of the Regional Courts. This therefore means that attorneys will have the opportunity of representing their clients in matters where they ordinarily brief counsel, and this will in turn reduce the cost of litigation and therefore increase access to justice.
The Minister has recently sought the views of the legal profession, through the GCB and the LSSA among others, on the jurisdictional amounts for the various causes of action in respect of which the Regional Court will have jurisdiction. I am advised that the Rules Board will be meeting next week to finalise the draft rules which will then be promoted with the Minister.
This piece of legislation is both radical and progressive as it opens opportunities for practitioners which were not available under the Regional Court system established in 1952. There will, of course, be many challengers during the initial implementation phase. We are, however, convinced that by working hand in hand with the legal profession and other stakeholders, no challenge is insurmountable.
Government has also prioritised the review of the civil justice system in its 2009 Programme of Action. The Minister will soon launch this programme, which will be one of the flagship projects of the department. Central to the reform of the civil justice system is the transformation of the sheriffs’ profession. The Sheriffs are a vital link in the civil justice chain. The review will explore the optimum use of the information and communication technology (ICT) and provides opportunities to transform the sector and build a credible, efficient and accessible civil justice system.
The department has already initiated a number of initiatives to transform the sheriffs' profession, including the subdivision of bigger areas. We have also put in place a uniform approach in the appointment of Sheriffs. As you are aware, two attorneys from the Free State province will serve on the Provincial Advisory Committee that shortlist and interview candidates with a view to make recommendations to the Minister.
The appointment of more sheriffs who would advance our transformation agenda is an imperative. The department is committed to improve the current demographic status of the profession, which reflects an appalling statistic of 78% White and 22% Black, with only nine percent women. Also significant is the finalisation and publication of the rules of courts that allow for promoting a competitive profession. These rules enable the Minister to appoint, in deserving areas, two or more Sheriffs.
There are in all, 14 areas identified as possible competition sites and which are currently the subject of investigation by the Department and the South African Board for Sheriffs. May I take this opportunity to highlight some of the changes brought to the jurisdiction of the lower courts. As part of the process of the re-demarcation of the magisterial districts the Minister has published changes to the jurisdiction of 15 branch courts. These courts have, with effect from 11 August 2009, assumed status of full services courts, providing civil and family law services in addition to criminal matters. Although there were no Branch Courts designated as such from the Free Province, most of the courts here will be affected by the second phase of the project which focuses on all courts and periodical courts. You will soon be consulted in this respect to gather your counsel and wisdom.
The Criminal Justice System (CJS) Review, as part of the Programme of Action of Government and one of government's apex national priorities, is today firmly established and has gained much momentum. In a major deviation from similar previous initiatives, the reform programme also deals with capacity requirements in all areas, including human resources, professional tools, laboratory equipment and machinery. To achieve sustainability, coordinated strategies, plans and budgets, including a CJS Business and three-year action plan is being developed.
In this regard the CJS protocol, as well as a number of supporting protocols, is being developed with the involvement of functionaries representing all stakeholders with the aim of ensuring the seamless alignment of the CJS. One of the important pieces of legislation flowing from the CJS Review is the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill, currently before Parliament. This Bill provides the South African Police Services (SAPS) with essential crime fighting tools which include access to finger-printing databases of other government departments for criminal investigation purposes and gives them powers to take and retain finger-print and biometric materials. The Bill also provides for the establishment, administration and use of DNA as a tool to assist with suspect-to-crime-scene matches.
The Case Backlog Reduction Project (aimed at the Regional Courts) entails the provision of additional capacity through acting the appointment of magistrates, prosecutors, legal representatives and support staff, to the regional court sites with the most backlog cases (longer than nine months on the court rolls). The project started as a court efficiency measure instituted by the JCPS cluster as a priority in the Programme of Action of government. This project has now been subsumed into the CJSR and the additional capacity is also being utilised to deal with the expediting of high priority cases such as xenophobia and election matters.
The total number of cases permanently removed from the regional court rolls as a result of the current 37 backlog courts till the end of March 2009, is 13 113 (comprising 8 855 cases finalised, 3 649 cases withdrawn after re-screening of regional cases at backlog sites and 609 cases transferred).
I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all members of the Free State Law Society, who have made their services available to serve as Commissioners in Small Claims Courts, on a voluntary and pro bono basis. These are important courts which ensure that the indigent and the vulnerable members of society are able to access justice, cheaply and with ease. There is most definitely a great need for the expansion of Small Claims in the Free State province. This is evident from the fact that there has nearly been a 100% increase in the number of trials in the Small Claims Courts in your province: 691 for 2007/08 to 1 276 for 2008/09. I would therefore urge all legal practitioners to make themselves available to serve as Commissioners.
I have for the past month or two, been privileged to attend sittings of the small claims courts in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town and have also had the opportunity to engage with Commissioners. I am looking forward to visit the Free State Province in the near future. We are currently considering various measures to further strengthen Small Claims Courts. Part of these initiatives are intended to address some of the challenges facing the Small Claims Courts, such as, the lack of adequate capacity, security and training. Other interventions include matters regarding: jurisdiction; expanding the pool of Commissioners; execution of process within Small Claims Courts; review and appeal processes as well as possible legislative amendments.
A Task Team, comprising, inter alia, of representatives from the Legal Profession, have recently completed two draft manuals on small claims, one for the Commissioners and the other for the Clerk of the Small Claims Courts. I trust that we will soon be in a position to make it available as it will be an essential guide for newly appointed Commissioners.
Ek wil afsluit deur effens verraderlik te wees en as Blou Bul ondersteuner vir al die Cheetah ondersteuners hier sterkte toe te wens vir Saterdag se Curriebeker semi-finaal!
I wish you well with your Annual General Meeting (AGM) which starts tomorrow.
I thank you.
Baie dankie.
Kea leboha haholo.
Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
15 October 2009
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
(http://www.doj.gov.za)
