SA has desperate shortage of judges and it’s creating serious backlogs

South Africa has a desperate shortage of judges and it is having a knock-on effect creating a serious backlog of cases, this is according to lobby group Judges Matter.

While the the population and the crime rate have grown significantly in the last few years, the number of South African judges has stayed the same.

Alison Tilley, attorney and co-ordinator of Judges Matter told The Citizen, this is causing massive backlogs for victims of crime.

Shortage brewing

Tilley says this problem has been brewing in the lower and high courts for a while.

“We only have 250 high court and superior court judges. We’ve got nine provinces and some of them have more than one division. So, we have many cases and as the population grows, we need more judges. But the number has now been fixed for a number of years.

“Acting judges are appointed when there is a shortage. But the difficulty is that there are not enough and in some divisions, judges president asking senior practitioners to avail themselves on a pro bono basis to act as judges,” Tilley said.

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Under pressure

Tilley said the shortage is having a knock-on effect on the legal system and putting strain on judges.

She cited the example of Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial who could not preside over the matter due to illness.

“There are delays in matters being heard, there can be delays in judgments being handed down. They themselves are working under enormous pressure and they don’t have enough support. So, they don’t have research staff who can do research for them or take footnotes for them in judgments that take time.”

Review

Tilley said the shortage is being reviewed.

“There is the Moseneke Commission, which is looking at the rationalisation of the courts. So, there is a longer-term process in place. For now, I think what we need to see is more scope for acting judges and more positions being established in the bigger courts.

“And that is a discussion between the officer of the chief justice and Treasury, and allocating more money for posts so that we have sufficient people on the bench.

Tilley said there is desperate need to have judges available so that people can decision quickly.

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