Commercial crime courts saddled with 67% case backlog

THE Special Commercial Crime Court is saddled with a 67% backlog in outstanding cases which date back more than nine months since their enrolment.

This was revealed by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola while he was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Werner Horn.

In his response, Lamola said according to the statistics kept by the National Prosecuting Authority in the Special Commercial Crimes Unit, the number of outstanding cases in all special commercial crimes courts stood at 1 675, with a 1117 case backlog as at the end of January.

“These are cases which have been on the roll for more than nine months since enrolment. This means that backlog cases stand at 67%,” Lamola said.

He also said the special commercial crimes courts in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape contributed to the highest backlogs.

In the 2019/20 annual report, the department said it continued to monitor the reduction of case backlogs in the lower courts and provided support to improve court efficiency and effectiveness.

“Work has been going on within the Integrated Justice System structures to develop and implement digital or electronic measures which seek to modernise court processes and thereby limit and resolve blockages that may occur. However, resources and budget constraints hamper the department’s ability to fully implement all the measures that are required for a rapid and dramatic reduction of case backlogs.”

The department said it has sought to address the increasing number of backlogged cases, both historical and those caused by the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic, by developing a draft national integrated criminal case backlog management plan in collaboration with all stakeholders.

“The department has also engaged with all stakeholders to establish a steering committee to deal with not only the backlogs, but also to fast-track the establishment of special commercial crimes courts.”