Courts to be brought closer to the people
IN an effort to fast-track court cases in KZN, the Free State, Eastern and Western Capes, select venues will be converted into branch and periodical courts, with new magisterial districts and district courts formed.
This move was gazetted by Justice and Correctional Service Minister Ronald Lamola, who said there was a need to reconfigure jurisdictional boundaries to make the justice system more accessible to the public.
‘As a result, we will no longer have a situation where people have to travel long distances and go past courts in their towns which are closer to where they live, to access the court system and ultimately justice,’ said Lamola.
This rationalisation of courts began in 2014 in Gauteng, North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and the Northern Cape.
Lamola said, since the advent of democracy, the structure, characteristics and culture of the judicial system have remained largely unchanged, apart from transformation mandated by the Constitution.
‘The transformation is underpinned by the constitutional imperative that all courts must be rationalised to establish a judicial system consistent with constitutional democracy and the principle of access to justice,’ he said.
Lamola explained that the rationalisation process requires an integrated approach, in consultation with the Justice Crime Prevention Security Cluster and other stakeholders in the justice sector.
‘Having full-service courts closer to the people will ultimately make justice more accessible to the public,’ he concluded