09 Jun 2026

Government will review its approach to handling civil litigation, including the outsourcing of cases to private legal practitioners, amid concerns about delays, costs and the management of cases before the courts.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services, Ms Naledi Moroka, told the Standing Committee on Government Assurances Committee on Monday that the review would assess whether it was prudent for government to continue defending cases where it had weak prospects of success.

Ms Moroka said the review would also examine concerns surrounding the outsourcing of civil litigation to private law firms and determine whether existing arrangements remained effective and cost-efficient.

She told the committee that the Attorney General’s Chambers was handling a large number of civil cases and that the ministry was considering reforms to improve the management of litigation.

Ms Moroka acknowledged concerns that prolonged litigation could place financial strain on litigants.

“The litigant eventually runs out of resources and gives up, even though they have a strong case,” she said.

She further noted that some private practitioners had raised concerns about the outsourcing framework, saying it lacked clarity on how cases were allocated.

In addition, she said supervising private practitioners engaged by government was challenging due to staff shortages and that outsourced services often attracted higher costs.

Earlier, Registrar of the High Court, Mr Mompati Taolo, told the committee that several factors contributed to delays in the disposal of cases before the courts.

He said some matters were registered before investigations had been completed, resulting in cases proceeding concurrently with ongoing investigations and pro-longing the judicial process.

Mr Taolo also said the Administration of Justice had expanded court services across the country to improve access to justice, a development that required significant financial and human resources.

He noted that the ministry had, on occasion, engaged temporary judges and magistrates to help reduce case backlogs.

However, he said such appointments required additional resources, including the provision of vehicles, accommodation and security, similar to arrangements made for permanent judicial officers. ENDS