02 Feb 2021

The justice system yearns to grow an independent, responsive, clean, modern and efficient judiciary, accountable to the public in its pursuit of a society in which the rule of law prevails, says Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane. 

 Speaking during the official opening of the legal year on February 2, he said a strong independent judiciary would provide checks and balances for growing democracy, peace and stability, the rule of law and social justice.

 He said there was earnest determination and resolve to maintain and sustain a clean, responsive and dependable judiciary with fidelity to the law. 

 Justice Rannowane said the priorities of any well-meaning judiciary should include enhancing judicial independence, modernising and strengthening efficiency and service delivery, as well as increasing access to justice and tweaking accountability mechanisms to foster public trust and confidence in the rule of law. 

“Our judiciary as the custodian of the administration of justice, rule of law and constitutionalism is fully cognisant of its pivotal role in the attainment of Vision 2036,” he said. 

 Justice Rannowane said restructuring of the judiciary was at the core of the Administration of Justice’s blueprint and master plan for transforming it.

   He said the Administration of Justice had therefore come up with new strategies aimed at enhancing service delivery and turnaround time which among others included the amendment of the rules of court. 

“The High Court rules have been amended, approved and published,” he said. 

He said the amendment of the rules had incorporated written judicial standards for the delivery of rulings and judgements as well as provision for empowering the chief justice to issue practice directives. 

The amendments also included the introduction of court-annexed mediation,  to be implemented next financial year, aimed at radically transforming and speeding up dispute resolution processes as opposed to having long and costly drawn up trials.

 “The introduction and establishment of the court-annexed mediation is intended to facilitate an efficient, cost-effective and speedy resolution of disputes,” he said. 

    He expressed concern that the ever growing case backlog and  associated delays in dispute resolution could frustrate and impede government attempts to attract foreign direct investment, job creation and transformation of the national economy to high-income status.

 On COVID-19, Justice Rannowane said the major challenge was trying to strike a balance between the health and safety of those attending and manning courts and the right of members of the public to access justice without hindrance.  

He said efforts had been made to reduce in-person attendance at the courts.

 “Judgements and rulings were either emailed or telefaxed to the parties to alleviate the need for court attendance,” he said.

Justice Rannowane said the initiative had been successful only to a limited extent because it could not be applied to trial matters where there was need for witnesses to attend court and give oral evidence in person. 

He emphasised the need to reconfigure and adapt working methods to the new normal. 

“We intend to leverage on technology to enable us to dispense justice in a way that does not endanger the health of our customers and the employees of the judiciary,” he said. 

He said the current situation as dictated by COVID-19 called for a robust approach to case management processes by both judicial officers and litigants. 

The calling of many witnesses where triable issues could be resolved by calling one or two witnesses only should be avoided where practicable, he said.

The pandemic, he said, had however not deterred the judiciary from pursuing reforms and developing systems as well as  tools that enhanced its efficiency and effectiveness. 

Mr Rannowane said the judiciary was not yet at a stage where trials could be conducted virtually.

 “Plans would be put in place to slowly migrate our service delivery process to virtual platforms where possible. Our hope is that we will emerge at the other end of this challenge as a dynamic organisation with the ability to transform and to re-invent itself into a stronger, vibrant and flexible entity capable of overcoming whatever challenges are thrown on its way,” he said.ends