Justice and Constitutional
Development Portfolio
Committee
Presentation by Mr. S Jiyane,
DDG Court Services
22 March 2006
STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION
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The role of Court Services
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Who are we?
What do we do
Functional Components and Resources
2005
What we did with the Resources allocated
Challenges met and how we seek to deal
with them
Priorities
Planning for 2006 and budget
Conclusion
THE BRANCH
COURT SERVICES
STRATEGIC FOCUS
 Linking budget to strategy:
1. Ensuring access to justice for all
2. Enhancing Organizational Efficiency and
3. Transforming Justice
 Court Services is dealing with the above
through the following Programmes:
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Programme planning and judicial support
Court Performance
Vulnerable Groups
Facility/Infrastructure Management
Family Advocacy
PROGRAM 1
Programme and judicial support
ISS Report on the IJS - August 2005
Paying for crime: South Africa’s spending
on criminal justice
 What do we spend on criminal justice
and how has this changed?
 How do we compare?
 What are the key stresses and what can
be done?
Growth rates in the criminal justice system over time
•Although average growth in the CJS budget
has generally exceeded that of the national
budget, it has not done so every year. There
are also important variations between the three
departments.
Comparative growth rates
CJS and Provincial Allocations
16%
15%
Nat. budget
grows at 12.2%
14%
13%
12%
Nat. budget
grows at 10.3%
Nat. budget
grows at 9.6%
Nat. budget
grows at 10.0%
11%
10%
9%
Inflation of 6.3%
8%
Inflation of 5.7%
Inflation of 5.4%
Inflation of 4.9%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
CJS
Provincial alloc
1995/96 to 2007/08
1995/96 to 2001/02
2001/02 to 2004/05
2004/05 to 2007/08
11.4%
9.9%
12.2%
7.2%
10.8%
15.4%
10.3%
10.0%
Comparative growth rates
CJS and Provincial Allocation
18%
17%
16%
Nat. Budget
grows at 12.2%
15%
14%
Nat. Budget
grows at 10.3%
13%
Nat. Budget
grows at 9.6%
12%
Nat. Budget
grows at 10.0%
11%
10%
9%
8%
Inflation of 6.3%
Inflation of 5.4%
Inflation of 5.7%
Inflation of 4.9%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
SAPS
Justice
DCS
Provincial alloc.
•Between 1995/6 and 2007/8, all 3 CJS depts
will have seen their budgets grow faster than
the national budget and faster than provincial
allocations.
1995/96 to 2007/08
1995/96 to 2001/02
2001/02 to 2004/05
2004/05 to 2007/08
10.8%
13.9%
12.2%
9.9%
10.3%
17.8%
15.6%
7.2%
11.6%
10.1%
8.9%
15.4%
10.8%
10.1%
9.1%
10.0%
•Between 1995/6 and 2001/2 all CJS
departments’ budgets grew faster than the
national budget. Justice (because of the
creation of the DSO) and DCS did particularly
well.
•Between 2001/2 and 2004/5, all three
departments grew more slowly than the
national budget as a whole and a good deal
more slowly than allocations to provinces.
• Over the course of the MTEF, SAPS and
Justice will grow a little faster than the national
budget and at about the same pace as
provincial allocations. DCS, however, will grow
more slowly than both.
•CJS budgets have always grown faster than
inflation, inflation plus population growth, and
inflation plus population growth plus economic
growth
Conclusion to part one: What does it all mean?
Three basic conclusions:
•Despite the politics of crime, criminal
justice spending as a whole has never
grown significantly faster than the national
budget.
Average annual rate of growth of crime
(1995/6 to 2001/02vs 2001/02 to 2003/04)
14.0%
12.0%
10.0%
8.0%
• In early days of democracy CJS
spending grew faster than national
spending which grew faster than social
services spending.
• More recently, this has been decisively
reversed.
6.0%
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
-2.0%
-4.0%
-6.0%
Murder
Attempted
murder
Assault GBH
Agg.
Robbery
Common
robbery
Rape
Car theft
1995/6 - 2001/2
-3.7%
2.6%
2.8%
7.1%
12.0%
1.4%
-1.5%
2.7%
2001/2 - 2003/4
-3.8%
-2.0%
-0.7%
7.0%
2.9%
-1.4%
-4.6%
-4.0%
Burglary
This is NOT a scientific test of whether spending on social services does better than spending on CJS in
reducing crime because (a) CJS spending was still rising, (b) there were more cops and (c) tactics were
changing
It is, however, intriguing and suggests that prioritising social spending, whatever its other purposes, may also
have an impact on crime levels.
This does not, however, mean that social services spending is a more cost-effective approach to reducing
crime.
Part two: How much should SA spend on criminal justice?
Benchmarking South Africa’s spending on criminal justice reveals that we spend rather more than the
international average both per capita and as a proportion of GDP
Spending on CJS as % of GDP
(SA vs. world)
Spending as a proportion of GDP
3.5%
•A comparison of spending data for 1997/8 and
2004/5 reveals that while the international average
for criminal justice spending as a proportion of
GDP was about 1%, in South Africa, spending has
risen from about 2.7% in 1997/8 to 3.1% in
2004/5.
3.0%
2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
1997/98
Per capita spending on CJS
(SA vs. world)
2004/05
World
SA
$140.00
Per capita spending
A comparison of spending data for 1997/8 and
2004/5 reveals that on a per capita basis, SA
spends significantly more on criminal justice
than does the rest of the world.
In 2004, for instance, SA spent about $130 per
person on criminal justice while the rest of the
world spent only $66.
In 1997 the differential was $91 to $63.
$120.00
$100.00
$80.00
$60.00
$40.00
$20.00
$1997/98
2004/05
World
SA
Systemic issues
Although looking at the three depts individually is important, the CJS must also be looked at as a system
Growth in capacity has been uneven:
Growth in capacity
(2000/01 to 2005/06)
•Police personnel numbers have risen by 31%.
The numbers in the NPA and courts, however,
have grown by only 18% and 9% respectively.
DCS’s accommodation has grown by 15%, but its
staff numbers by only 8%.
35%
30%
25%
•This pattern will be repeated over the next few years.
20%
•Since the courts are slaves of the police and the
prisons are slaves of the courts and police, uneven
growth has the potential to create serious bottlenecks
because more police should mean more arrests.
15%
10%
5%
0%
SAPS personnel
Justice personnel
NPA personnel
Court personnel
DCS personnel
Cases to court, prosecutions and withdrawals
(1996-2003)
The courts are already struggling to
clear their rolls:
1,200,000
1,000,000
•Since 2000, the number of cases going
to court has risen by 84%. The number
of prosecutions has only grown by 31%.
800,000
•Withdrawals have increased by 42%,
but that still leaves a growing number of
cases stuck on the rolls. This amounted
to more than 350,000 cases in 2003
alone.
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
1996
1997
1998
Prosecutions
1999
2000
Cases withdrawn
2001
Cases to court
2002
2003
Prison space
ISS Conclusion
1
Spending levels have grown considerably
2
Spending, by international norms, is high
3
Capacity (measured by personnel per capita) is not excessive, but nor is it excessively low,
BUT…
4
Measured in relation to murder rates, capacity is very limited
5
BUT: much more is probably unaffordable and, in any event, a reasonable case can be made
that spending should prioritise social services (especially if that also helps reduce crime,
though this may not be its principal purpose).
6
STILL: Rapid capacity growth in the police is not being matched by similar growth in Justice
and DCS. This should be addressed.
7
BUT: to address growth needs in Justice and DCS at the expense of the police would be to
‘punish’ a department whose performance has improved. This would be perverse.
8
In the end, therefore, it is hard to conceive an approach to the CJS very different from the
present one.
BUDGETARY ASPECTS
 Budget 2005/06
 Additional allocations
 Resource Utilization
 Budget 2006/07
 Additional allocations
 Priorities
HIGHLIGHTS IN TERMS OF THE
3 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF THE
DOJCD
The following slides will focus broadly on –
 Service delivery improvement
 Access to justice for all
 Organizational Efficiency
 Transformation
Access to Justice for all
 Specific activities in 2005 and 2006
 Rationalization of courts – see input later
 Facilities – see input later
 Maintenance – see Operation Isondlo later
 Court Performance – see case flow initiatives
later
 Family advocacy – see input later
Transformation
 Broad Transformation Initiatives
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Human Resource Development Strategy
Pool from which women and black practitioners can be prepared
for appointment to the bench
Professionalizing court support services through learner ships and
skills programmes including improving interpreter services
Capacitating Family courts and Family advocacy
Restructuring of the Justice College
Development of a language policy for courts to promote the use of
African languages in court proceedings
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms to ensure
public participation in dispute resolution processes
Modernisation
 Modernisation Programme

IT: A major exercise providing judges, magistrates,
prosecutors and administrative personnel with such
equipment has been completed. Out of 342 courts which
have no IT connection 160 thereof would be connected by
end of April 2006 and the reminder would be connected by
end of June 2006.
For the courts impact are around:
 E-Scheduler (44 ICFM Centres and roll out to 40 more)
 Video postponements (piloting KZN)
 JDAS/ Maintenance
 Court Nerve Centre
Court Management
 RAB……
 Court managers……
 Structure of Chief Justice…..
RE-DEMARCATION OF MAGISTERIAL
DISTRICTS
1. IMPACT OF THE CONSTITUTION TWELFTH AMENDMENT ACT, 2005
 THE AIM OF THE ACT IS RE-DETERMINING THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS OF THE
NINE PROVINCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA. AS A CONSEQUENCE:
WE NEED TO PROVIDE FOR MEASURES TO REGULATE, WITHIN A REASONABLE
TIME, THE LEGAL, PRACTICAL AND ANY OTHER CONSEQUENCES OF THE REDETERMINATION.
 ALL PROVINCIAL RE-DEMARCATION REPORTS AND GIS MAPS TO BE ALIGNED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONSTITUTION TWELFTH AMENDMENT ACT, 2005 AND
THE CROSS-BOUNDARY MUNICIPALITIES LAWS REPEAL AND RELATED MATTERS
ACT, 2005 (ACT NO. 23 OF 2005) IN ALL AFFECTED AREAS AND PROVINCES, SUCH
AS, UMZIMKULU, MATATIELE (EASTERN CAPE AND KWAZULU-NATAL),
PAMPIERSTAD (NORTH WEST AND NORTHERN CAPE), EKANGALA (MPUMALANGA
AND GAUTENG), GROBLERSDAL (MPUMALANGA AND LIMPOPO), MAPULANENG
AND MHALA (LIMPOPO AND MPUMALANGA), OBERHOLZER, KHUTSONG
(GAUTENG AND NORTH WEST),GA-RANKUWA AND TEMBA (NORTH WEST AND
GAUTENG), LYDENBURG (MPUMALANGA AND LIMPOPO)
2. BUSINESS PLAN/PROJECT PLAN
 MEETING WITH INTERNAL ROLE-PLAYERS
A MEETING TO BE HELD BEFORE THE END OF FEBRUARY 2006 BETWEEN INTERNAL ROLEPLAYERS OF THE DEPT AND CERTAIN OUTSIDE AGENCIES, SUCH AS THE DEMARCATION
BOARD TO DISCUSS THE WAY FORWARD.
 NATIONAL WORKSHOP/PROVINCIAL MEETINGS
THEREAFTER A NATIONAL WORKSHOP WITH ALL RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS TO DISCUSS
VARIOUS ISSUES, SUCH AS THE AMENDMENTS TO THE RE-DEMARCATION REPORTS, THE
IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES AT OUR COURTS, A DECISION ON HOW THE RE-DEMARCATION
PROCESS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED, I.E PER PROVINCE OR ALL NINE PROVINCES AT ONCE,
ACCOMMODATION ASPECTS, THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROCESS ON OUR COURTS, THE
ROLE OF SHERIFFS, ETC.
IF NECESSARY, PROVINCIAL MEETINGS WILL FOLLOW THIS WORKSHOP
 FINALIZATION OF GIS MAPS
THE DEMARCATION BOARD UTILIZED GIS MAPS TO DRAW THE MAGISTERIAL BOUNDARIES.
THESE MAPS WITH THE NEW MAGISTERIAL BOUNDARIES WITH ALL THE AMENDMENTS NEEDS
TO BE ABSORBED BY THE OFFICES OF THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL INTO EXISTING MAPS,
CERTIFIED AND APPROVED. AFTER RECEIVING THE NEW MAPS FROM THE SURVEYORGENERAL, THE DOJCD WILL BE IN A POSTION TO MOVE TOWARDS FINALIZATION OF THE REDEMARCATION PROCESS.
 COMPILATION OF MINISTER’S MEMORANDUM, GOVERNMENT NOTICE AND SCHEDULES
AS SOON AS ALL THE GIS MAPS OF EACH PROVINCE HAVE BEEN FINALIZED, CHECKED AND
CERTIFIED BY THE OFFICES OF THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL, WE WILL APPROACH THE MINISTER
TO WITHDRAW ALL PREVIOUS NOTICES AND TO ESTABLISH NEW MAGISTERIAL DISTRICTS AND
COURTS IN TERMS OF SECTION 2(1) OF THE MAGISTRATES’ COURTS ACT, 1944 (ACT NO 32 OF
1944). THE GOVERNMENT NOTICE AND SCHEDULES WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE STATE LAW
ADVISERS FOR LEGAL SCRUTINY.
PUBLICATION OF GOVERNMENT NOTICE AND SCHEDULES
WHEN THE MINISTER HAS APPROVED THE ABOVE-MENTIONED GOVERNMENT NOTICE AND
SCHEDULES, THE GOVERNMENT PRINTERS WILL BE REQUESTED TO PUBLISH THE NOTICE AND
SCHEDULES. COPIES THEREOF WILL BE FORWARDED TO ALL RELEVANT ROLE-PLAYERS.
 TIMEFRAME, BUDGET AND LINK WITH RE-AGA BOSWA
SECTION 103(3)(a) OF THE CONSTITUTION TWELFTH AMENDMENT ACT, 2005 REFERS TO “WITHIN
REASONABLE TIME”. TWELVE (12) MONTHS SEEMS TO BE THE STANDARD FOR A REASONABLE
TIME IN INSTANCES SUCH AS THESE.
THE BUDGET ALLOCATED FOR RE-DEMARCATION FOR THE 2006/2007 FINANCIAL YEAR IS
R 2 MILLION.
INTERACTION WITH RELEVANT PARTIES WORKING ON RE-AGA BOSWA WILL ENSURE THAT THE
HUMAN RESOURCES ARE ADEQUATE TO ADDRESS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROCESS.
Language Policy
Presentation on Promotion of Multilingualism in Court Process
 Establishment of Joint Task Teams
 Draft policy document to be completed before the
end of the financial year 2006/07
 Organize consultative forums with all stakeholders for
further inputs.
Principles
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Promoting and protecting linguistic diversity
Supporting democracy through the entrenchment of language
equity and language rights.
Viewing multilingualism as a resource
Redressing the marginalisation of indigenous languages.
Encouraging the learning of other South African languages
Contents of the Policy
 Language of Record and Proceedings
 Interpretation and Translations( including sign
language)
 Access to records for persons with disabilities
 Special redress for the marginalised languages, that
is, the African languages including the Khoe and
San Languages.
Lay Assessors
Purpose of the project
 Establishment of Lay Assessors Committees
 Determination of the number cases
 Obtaining the number of assessors per site
 Identify budget needs
 Identify further rollout sites
 Fast-track the implementation of regulations
Pilot Sites
 Cape Town - R1,170 000.00
 Emlazi – R448 615.00
 Polokwane – R746 000.00
 Port Elizabeth – R1,100 000.00
 Pretoria – R3, 186 468.00
 Protea North – R1,170 000.00
 Upington – R255 820.00
Way Forward
• Increase the number of pilot sites in the next financial year
• Further rollout will be the following offices: Germiston, Kempton
Park, East London, Mitchells Plain, Nelspruit, Middelburg, Tzaneen
and Bloemfontein.
Budget for Further Rollout
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R10m set aside for the pilot project
Each court room will be serviced by two assessors
One lay assessor will be paid to a maximum of R36
000 PA
In addition to allowances for lay assessors,
infrastructure costs is expected
Projected amounts in the first and second year do not
take into account possible increases in fees.
A further R15 000 000.00 will be required for next
financial year.
PROGRAM 2
COURT PERFORMANCE
COURT PERFORMANCE
MANAGMENT
 Development of Court Nerve Centre
Measuring tool
 Statistics on Court Performance
Refer to the main document
REVIEW OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SYSTEM
This is a JCPS initiative led by DoJCS and based on
approved Terms of Reference :
 Review Team for political guidance, will be
constituted by the Minister, DoJCD before the end of
March 2006
 Research Team to be constituted by the DG, DoJCD
to conduct the actual research -nominations already
requested from the JCPS cluster partners
 Draft CJS Review Initiation Plan also submitted to the
partners for input.
CJS REVIEW PLAN

Broad Project Initiation Activities for January to April 2006. Abudget of R5m for
has been allocated to the CJS Review for 2006/7.

1. Develop/draft CJS Review project initiation plan and solicit JCPS partner
inputs/comments
2. Establish Project Secretariat -Identify/assign Project Manager-Identify support staff
for the Secretariat
3. Set up project office-Identify and secure project space -Source infrastructure needs
4. Engage JCPS cluster partners to :constitute the Review & Research Teams
commit resources
5. Coordinate the initiation of updating of previous CS review - Identify resources to
engage to update the Mulweli Report- Updating of the Mulweli
6. Facilitate the conducting of the CJS Review project scoping (to develop an
integrated CJS Review Plan including budget and capacity/resources)
7. Conducting of the review
8. Regular reporting
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CASE FLOW MANAGEMENT
 CFM is overseen by an National Integrated
CFM National Committee – all partners
represented
 Established CFM governance structures -
Provincial & Local Integrated Case Flow
Management Forums in some courts chaired
by the Judiciary (magistrates/judges)
CFM CENTRES
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Already established at 44 courts where the
eScheduler is deployed as an enabling tool
CFM Planning Tool/Template developed and
being tested in Pinetown, KZN Regional Court
Division, Western Cape High Court.
CFM Guidelines developed by DoJCD, NPA
and lower Court Judiciary, being implemented
CFM Training of Judicial Cluster/SubCluster
Heads initiated Oct 05 and continues to apply
guidelines and CFM planning tool
AUDIO VISUAL CASE REMAND
SYSTEM
 Exploiting technology to remove security risks and logistical
nightmare associated with daily transportation of ATD’s between
court and prison, and free time & resources in the system for
trial ready cases.
 Currently being piloted in Durban, Pinetown & Westville prison
in KZN since Oct 05
 Targeting only remand cases where no juveniles are involved
 Continuously optimizing procedures to operate the system
between court & prison
AUDIO VISUAL CASE REMAND SYSTEM cont.
 Number of cases processed through the system since
implementation/piloting of the system in Oct 05 :
 October 05 – 87 cases
 November 05 – 437
 December 05 – 404
 January 06 – 363
 Draft legislation to be with Minister 1st quarter of 2006
 Outcome of the pilot - impact assessment will be conducted
after 6 months – May 06
 Excellent court stakeholder cooperation must be applauded in
KZN for the testing of this system
CASE e-SHEDULER
 Deployed at 44 district criminal courts and being stabilized
 System currently operating on distributed database platform
(each court with own server and database)
 System adapted to the web based version (centralized) to
enable all to access the system database centrally for better
performance
 Testing the web base version, by end March 06 all 44 sites will
be converted from distributed version
 April 06 – next 40 sites to be deployed with the web based
central access version
Court Performance cont.

Development of the new Quality Management Framework


The new function on QM for courts is being redefined to be relevant to courts and enhance
overall performance. The setting of service standards inline with Batho Pele principles will
underpin the new QM role. Relevant bodies/institutes like SABS and TQM Institutes will
be interfaced with in this exercise. This will be a paradigm shift from the current policing
approach to quality assurance/inspecting of offices.
Backlog of cases / Monitoring Court Performance


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It is clear that court performance is not only dependant on additional resources, but
on management at court level (and here the judiciary have a crucial role)
RAB as support mechanism
ICFM Centres
Dedicated Courts (Commercial crime; hijack; drugs; environmental; community courts)
Additional capacity/courts
Review of CJS
Court Nerve Centre
Court Nerve Centre
 The Court Nerve Centre was established to provide a
framework for measuring court performance that will
reflect the court system as a system of closely
interlinked processes and tasks in the integrated
justice system.
 For this purpose all court managers are required to
submit monthly returns to the respective area court
managers. In this process District Court Managers,
appointed at main seats of court, are responsible for
the collection of information from the main seat and
the courts linked to the main seat (i.e. branch and
periodical courts
Returns to be submitted
 The returns to be collected are collected at three levels:
the “Monthly Court Return” contains detailed information on
court “occupancy” which is captured at a court room level;
 the “Monthly Return” contains workload information on other
activities and functions performed in a magistrates office
(civil matters, criminal matters and family law related
matters) and other court activities (such as estates, lay
assessors, appeals and divorces) which is captured at a
court house level; and
 the “Monthly Establishment Returns” contains information on
the establishment (human resource capacity) which is
captured at a court responsibility level (a responsibility
centre being a main court, that manages branch and
periodical courts)
 These levels are shown in the next slide

Levels for Data Collection
National
Office
Province
Gauteng
Province
Free State
Province
Western Cape
Administrative Area
Bloemfontein
District:
Bloemfontein
Establishment
Return
Responsibility
Centre
Bloemfontein
Administrative Area
Welkom
District:
Boshof
Responsibility
Centre
Boshof
Responsibility
Centre
Dealesville
District:
Welkom
Responsibility
Centre
Hertzogville
Responsibility
Centre
Welkom
Monthly Return
Service Centre /
Office
Bloemfontein
Service Centre /
Office
Bathu
Service Centre /
Office
Welkom
Monthly Court Return
Production Unit
Court A
Production Unit
Court B
Production Unit
Court A
Production Unit
Court A
Production Unit
Court B
INFORMATION FLOW
INFORMATION FLOW
Court
A
Court
A
Court
A
Court
A
Region
Area 2
Court Services
Area 1
Court Nerve Centre
Court
A
Court Performance
 The next slides provides information of the
court performance
DEDICATED COURTS
 Commercial, Community and other dedicated courts
will be continued with as part of the strategy to
ensure that courts focus on productivity as a
measurement of success. Our strategy is to deal with
these courts as part of our court structure and to
ensure that the other courts also receive additional
attention and resources so that all courts can deliver
improved services.
 The current model of community courts is to be
integrated into the original concept intended to focus
on enhancing community justice through
strengthening traditional courts in rural areas and
relevant structures in the townships.
Commercial Crime Courts:
April 2005 to December 2005
Cases Removed
Court Name
New
Cases
Withdrawals
Diversions
Cases
Transferred
Warrant
issued
Outstanding
Roll
Cases Finalised
Other
Not
Guilty
Guilty
31 December 2005
DURBAN
381
48
0
30
31
4
239
4
198
JOHANNESBURG
276
63
0
31
1
3
115
8
291
PORT ELIZABETH
123
23
0
7
17
2
94
15
91
PRETORIA
237
75
0
25
0
0
248
13
229
1017
209
0
93
49
9
696
40
809
TOTAL
Commercial Crime Courts
 There are 4 Commercial Crime Courts in the RSA at present

Durban (established during 2005) :


Johannesburg :


New cases: 381; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 113;
Finalised guilty verdict: 239; Finalised Not Guilty: 4; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 198
New cases: 276; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 98;
Finalised guilty verdict: 115; Finalised Not Guilty: 8; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 291
Port Elizabeth (established during 2005) :

New cases: 123; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 49;
Finalised guilty verdict: 94; Finalised Not Guilty: 15; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 91
 Pretoria :

New cases: 237; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 100;
Finalised guilty verdict: 248; Finalised Not Guilty: 13; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 229
Community Courts

There are 15 Community Courts in the RSA at present

Bloemfontein :


Cape Town :


New cases: 6 131; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 3 089; Finalised
guilty verdict: 3 146; Finalised Not Guilty: 40; Outstanding Roll as on 31 December 2005: 0
Durban:


New cases: 1 273; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 332; Finalised
guilty verdict: 940; Finalised Not Guilty: 1; Outstanding Roll as on 31 December 2005: 0
New cases: 3 510; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 980; Finalised
guilty verdict: 2 551; Finalised Not Guilty: 10; Outstanding Roll as on 31 December 2005:
161
Hatfield (two courts)

New cases: 3 744; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 2 388; Finalised
guilty verdict: 1 460; Finalised Not Guilty: 76; Outstanding Roll as on 31 December 2005:
412
Community Courts (cont.)

Mitchells Plain:


Phuthaditjaba:


New cases: 4 271; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 5 377;
Finalised guilty verdict: 501; Finalised Not Guilty: 77; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 216
New cases: 471; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 295;
Finalised guilty verdict: 64; Finalised Not Guilty: 4; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 0
Protea - Lenasia:

New cases: 213; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 77;
Finalised guilty verdict: 73; Finalised Not Guilty: 7; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 0
 Thohoyandou:

New cases: 2 979; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 2 373;
Finalised guilty verdict: 419; Finalised Not Guilty: 3; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 383
Community Courts (cont.)

Johannesburg – Hillbrow :


Kimberley :


New cases: 446; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 375;
Finalised guilty verdict: 98; Finalised Not Guilty: 25; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 147
Kwa-Mashu :


New cases: 1 498; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 17;
Finalised guilty verdict: 1 486; Finalised Not Guilty: 2; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 0
New cases: 3 457; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 1 373;
Finalised guilty verdict: 1 819; Finalised Not Guilty: 9; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 298
Mankeng:

New cases: 255; Removed from roll (withdrawal, warrants issued, etc.): 50;
Finalised guilty verdict: 171; Finalised Not Guilty: 34; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 0
Community Courts (cont.)
 Umtata:
 New cases: 2 996; Removed from roll (withdrawal,
warrants issued, etc.): 2 817; Finalised guilty verdict:
160; Finalised Not Guilty: 4; Outstanding Roll as on 31
December 2005: 59
 Wynberg - Fezeka:
 New cases: 1 869; Removed from roll (withdrawal,
warrants issued, etc.): 1 013; Finalised guilty verdict:
869; Finalised Not Guilty: 126; Outstanding Roll as on
31 December 2005: 321
Additional Courts
 A framework for the establishment of these courts
is receiving attention by the Department together
with the NPA and the Magistracy. This is to ensure
that the Department is now able to account for the
investment of these resources and monitor the
returns though proper mechanism to monitor the
performance of these courts.
 In the past the Saturday and additional court
project was extremely successful. Between 2001
and 2004 such courts finalised an additional 76 836
cases
Small Claims Courts: Statistics for
2005
 There are 154 Small Claims Courts in the RSA at present covering
219 magisterial districts (out of 366). 35 new such courts are planned for
2006/07 as well as circuit courts to enhance access.
 Eastern Cape:

Inquiries: 6507; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 423; Summonses
issued: 1549; Trials: 1182;
 Free State:

Inquiries: 2115; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 1449; Summonses
issued: 1214; Trials: 1409;
 Gauteng:

Inquiries: 31164; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 2674; Summonses
issued: 7773; Trials: 7583;
 KwaZulu-Natal:

Inquiries: 8575; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 1971; Summonses
issued: 2111; Trials: 1722;
Small Claims Courts, continued:

Limpopo:


Mpumalanga:


Inquiries: 5160; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 95; Summonses issued: 533;
Trials: 546;
Western Cape:


Inquiries: 620; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 184; Summonses issued: 464;
Trials: 512;
North-West:


Inquiries: 10617; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 664; Summonses issued:
1724; Trials: 1040;
Northern Cape:


Inquiries: 7489; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 523; Summonses issued:
3082; Trials: 2081;
Inquiries: 24922; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 610; Summonses issued:
3920; Trials: 3994;
Totals:

Inquiries: 97168; Litigants referred to legal assistance: 8593; Summonses issued:
22370; Trials: 20069.
PROGRAM 3
Specialised Programmes for
Vulnerable Groups
Vulnerable Groups
 Activities:
 Victim Service Charter and victim empowerment
 Specialized court services (Sexual offences/ equality /
SCC)
 Family Courts
 Child Justice / Children’s Courts
 Family advocacy
 Maintenance improvement project JHB and roll out
 Restorative Justice
Equality Courts:










220 equality courts designated countrywide
More courts still to be designated in the 2006/7 financial year
657 cases reported so far in our equality courts (from 2003 up to date).
Topping the list in terms of the statistics are KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng
provinces.
The provinces reporting the least number of cases are Free State, Northern
Cape and Limpopo.
This has been attributed to lack of awareness amongst the members of the
public.
The department will vigorously embark on public awareness campaigns
aimed at raising awareness
88 Judges and 815 Magistrates and 334 Clerks have been trained by
Justice College. Training will be done on an on-going basis until we have a
large number of trained court personnel
Shortage of court personnel (clerks) is affecting the effective and efficient
operation of the equality courts
135 temporary clerks of the equality court were appointed during 2005/6
financial year – they are to be appointed permanently in the 2006/7 financial
year
Service Charter for Victims of Crime
 Implementation of the Service Charter for Victims
at Courts:




Service Charter publications, pamphlets and posters,
have been printed in all official languages and Braille.
80 Toll-Free Line Officials were trained in all provinces
and 36 toll free lines were established.
Training and briefing sessions for Court managers and
other personnel were held in 9 provinces.
A needs analysis for courts has been conducted for
implementation in the new financial year.
FAMILY COURTS
 To date some of the key strategic priorities espoused in the family court
implementation plan have been implemented:
 Appointed legally qualified personnel to assist the court user, more
especially in the area of Maintenance-68 Maintenance Officers and
425 Administrative Clerks;
 Training: clerks of the courts in the family law streams have received
training, in all nine Provinces and this is a continuous endeavour: 225
in 2005;
 Facilitating training for all the newly appointed legally qualified
personnel, focusing not only on the “Black-letter” aspects but also on
Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms and Social Context;
 Facilitating the finalisation of the Family Law Learnership and the
recruitment of interns;
 Assist with the finalisation of establishment of Divorce courts and the
mainstreaming thereof; and
 Facilitating the development of a case management system for family
law services, which would have ripple benefits in terms of Monitoring
and Evaluation, standardising workflows, unblock administrative
flaws, and turnaround times with cases.
Child Justice
 The number of Children Awaiting Trial in Correctional
Centres, has decreased as follows:
 From 2200 monthly average in 2003; to 1696 in
November 2004; to 1668 in December 2004; to 1109 in
November 2005. Statistics are captured in table format
below.
 The National Instersectoral Child Justice Steering
Committee is working well and will further support the
establishment of provincial Child Justice Fora and local
Case Review Task Teams.
Children Awaiting Trial
UNSENTENCED CHILDREN AS FROM DECEMBER 2004 TO DECEMBER 2005
2005
REGION
Dec-04
Jan
Feb
March
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec-05
Kwazulu Natal
435
488
593
427
427
392
382
394
339
357
324
320
360
Gauteng
284
258
227
204
273
262
260
249
236
230
196
196
219
Western Cape
259
261
310
280
349
268
235
205
185
154
160
177
171
Eastern Cape
387
394
172
332
353
300
258
270
258
245
229
242
250
Free State/
Northern Cape
149
146
137
170
153
166
142
136
139
186
159
149
165
61
49
75
89
81
76
72
62
59
73
70
Limpopo/
Mpumalanga/
North West
N/A
154
Baseline information –
Operation Isondlo
Gauteng:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Pretoria: Enquiries set down: 1806; No. of non-payments: 285; Sect. 31’s:
285; No. of o/s warrants: 321; Inactive files: 7593; No. of cards monies
not collected: 502; Total no. of files: 19750; No. of officials: 32.
Soshanguve: Enquiries set down: 279; No. of non-payments: 86; Sect.
31’s: 89; No. of o/s warrants: 85; Inactive files: 2113; No. of cards monies
not collected: 1384; Total no. of files: 5823; No. of officials: 15.
15 Market Street, Jhb: Enquiries set down: 125; No. of non-payments:
1681; Sect. 31’s: 107; No. of o/s warrants: 465; Inactive files: 23000; No.
of cards monies not collected: 2080; Total no. of files: 83642; No. of
officials: 29.
Germiston: Enquiries set down: 2123; No. of non-payments: 700; Sect.
31’s: 403; No. of o/s warrants: 54; Inactive files: 56; No. of cards monies
not collected: 35; Total no. of files: 4680; No. of officials: 6.
Operation Isondlo continued:
Free State:
 Bloemfontein: Enquiries set down: 200; No. of nonpayments: 150; Sect. 31’s: 50; No. of o/s warrants:
576; Inactive files: 584; No. of cards monies not
collected: 233; Total no. of files: 19834; No. of
officials: 13.
 Phuthaditjhaba: Enquiries set down: 187; No. of
non-payments: 35; Sect. 31’s: 70; No. of o/s
warrants: 180; Inactive files: 557; No. of cards
monies not collected: 13; Total no. of files: 2378;
No. of officials: 5.
Operation Isondlo continued:
KwaZulu-Natal:

Durban: Enquiries set down: 597; No. of non-payments: 232;
Sect. 31’s: 18; No. of o/s warrants:183; Inactive files: 364; No.
of cards monies not collected: 1020; Total no. of files: 17227;
No. of officials: 13.

Ntuzuma: Enquiries set down: 387; No. of non-payments:
1665; Sect. 31’s: 35; No. of o/s warrants: 256; Inactive files:
3900; No. of cards monies not collected: 3123; Total no. of
files: 12000; No. of officials: 6.

Emlazi: Enquiries set down: 402; No. of non-payments:
1500; Sect. 31’s: 10; No. of o/s warrants: 6; Inactive files:
2180; No. of cards monies not collected: 4125; Total no. of
files: 15199; No. of officials: 5.
Operation Isondlo, continued:

Limpopo:

1. Thabamoopo: Enquiries set down: 160; No. of nonpayments: 916; Sect. 31’s: 916; No. of o/s warrants: 74; No of
Inactive files: 4000; No. of cards monies not collected: 79;
Total no. of files:8355; No. of officials: 5.

Mpumalanga:


1. Mkobola: Enquiries set down: 59; No. of non-payments:
998; Sect. 31’s: 115; No. of o/s warrants: 119; Inactive files:
771; No. of cards monies not collected: 29; Total no. of files:
1384; No. of officials: 5.
2. Nsikazi: Enquiries set down: 8861; No. of non-payments:
1172; Sect. 31’s: 84; No. of o/s warrants: 135; Inactive files:
8319; No. of cards monies not collected: 4935; Total no. of
files: 13254; No. of officials: 3.
Operation Isondlo continued:
 Eastern Cape:




1. Port Elizabeth: Enquiries set down: 3127; No. of nonpayments: 625; Sect. 31’s: 171; No. of o/s warrants: 625;
Inactive files: 5000; No. of cards monies not collected: 70;
Total no. of files: 30000; No. of officials: 15.
2. Mdantsane: Enquiries set down: 95; No. of nonpayments: 165; Sect. 31’s: 9; No. of o/s warrants: 48;
Inactive files: 337; No. of cards monies not collected: 228;
Total no. of files: 11021; No. of officials: 3.
3. Grahamstown: Enquiries set down: 201; No. of nonpayments: 177; Sect. 31’s: 136; No. of o/s warrants: 82;
Inactive files: 312; No. of cards monies not collected: 3; Total
no. of files: 7874; No. of officials: 6.
4. Queenstown: Enquiries set down: 161; No. of nonpayments: 40; Sect. 31’s: 11; No. of o/s warrants: 19;
Inactive files: 213; No. of cards monies not collected: 36;
Total no. of files: 1356; No. of officials: 2.
Operation Isondlo continued:
 North-West:




1. Odi: Enquiries set down: 2976; No. of non-payments:
371; Sect. 31’s: 1747; No. of o/s warrants: 1292; Inactive
files: 1400; No. of cards monies not collected: 276; Total no.
of files: 23781; No. of officials: 10.
2. Bafokeng: Enquiries set down: 277; No. of nonpayments: 337; Sect. 31’s: 337; No. of o/s warrants: 297;
Inactive files: 2100; No. of cards monies not collected: 222;
Total no. of files: 6719; No. of officials: 9.
3. Rustenburg: Enquiries set down: 190; No. of nonpayments: 155; Sect. 31’s: 13; No. of o/s warrants: 47;
Inactive files: 748; No. of cards monies not collected: 37;
Total no. of files: 7500; No. of officials: 4.
4. Mankwe: Enquiries set down: 13; No. of non-payments:
1200; Sect. 31’s: 13; No. of o/s warrants: 25; Inactive files:
1660; No. of cards monies not collected: 15; Total no. of
files: 4359; No. of officials: 2.
Operation Isondlo, continued:
 Northern Cape:
 1. Upington: Enquiries set down: 372; No. of nonpayments: 448; Sect. 31’s: 448; No. of o/s warrants:
62; Inactive files: 17; No. of cards monies not collected:
18; Total no. of files: 2370; No. of officials: 3.
 2. Kimberley: Enquiries set down: 754; No. of nonpayments: 522; Sect. 31’s: 330; No. of o/s warrants:
76; Inactive files: 300; No. of cards monies not
collected: 2; Total no. of files: 2000; No. of officials: 10.
Operation Isondlo continued:
 Western Cape:



1. Mitchell’s Plain: Enquiries set down: 115; No. of nonpayments: 2061; Sect. 31’s: 87; No. of o/s warrants: 294;
Inactive files: 3000; No. of cards monies not collected:
24694; Total no. of files: 30000; No. of officials: 11.
2. Khayelitsha: Enquiries set down: 2880; No. of nonpayments: 347; Sect. 31’s: 126; No. of o/s warrants: 69;
Inactive files: 3500; No. of cards monies not collected:
11784; Total no. of files: 16104; No. of officials: 6.
3. Phillipi: Enquiries set down: 183; No. of non-payments:
1100; Sect. 31’s: 114; No. of o/s warrants: 146; Inactive files:
500; No. of cards monies not collected: 270; Total no. of
files: 50353; No. of officials: 8.
PROGRAM 4
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
BUDGET 2005/2006
Items
Amount
Capital Works
R258 134 M
RAMP (Additional)
R 50 000 M
Day to Day Maintenance
R 11 000 M
Infrastructure Upgrading
R 36 146 M
GG Vehicles
R 27 000 M
Total
R382 146 M
FOCUS FOR 2005/2006
 Condition Assessment for all courts
 Improving security in the court buildings
 Rehabilitation and Maintenance of existing
courts
 Provision of new and Additional Facilities
 Provision of prefab structures as interim
accommodation (16)
RAMP
 15 new facilities registered on Work Control System





(WCS) with original Capital Works Allocation
All these 15 sites are in the process of being
Rehabilitated
Additional R50mil made available for RAMP
Additional 40 projects registered with the funds
Status quo analysis conducted on all 40 facilities to
determine the scope of work for Rehabilitation
This brings to 92 the total of facilities on
Rehabilitation and Maintenance phase
RAMP 2006/2007
 100 New facilities to be registered on RAMP
 Improvement of sanitation in Courts in Rural
Areas
CAPITAL WORKS
 12 Major Capital works completed in
2005/2006


2 new buildings for Randburg and Atteridgeville
Magistrate court
Major Additions in Ceres, Benoni, Vredendal,
Brixton, Uitenhage, Pretoria-North, Polokwane,
Umtata, Sasolburg and Heidelberg
CAPITAL WORKS 2006/2007
 10 New Court buildings to be constructed
 Major additions planned for 7 other buildings
 A total of R10 Mil set aside for Improvement
of accessibility for people with disability
SECURITY
 312 Offices/Courts out of 555 have been provided
with fulltime Guarding Service
 470 in-house court security officers have been
appointed
 216 Courthouses receiving Cash In Transit Services
 Successful conclusion of the envisaged Management
of Monies In Trust (MMIT) project will transfer the risk
of cash handling to private sector
Security (continues)
 1x Ray machine purchased for the
Constitutional Court
 136 Offices equipped with alarm system
 180 offices identified for installation of burglar
bars in effort to improve physical security
SECURITY 2006/2007
 Additional 373 sites identified for provision of
Guarding Services
 Cash In Transit services to be provided for in
362 offices
 136 sites to be provided with Alarm System
 Total Budget of R150 000 000.00
FOCUS FOR 2006/2007







Continue with upgrading of Security
Improve accessibility for disabled people in court buildings
Continue with the Rehabilitation and Maintenance program
Continue with condition monitoring for all facilities
Construction of new facilities and Major Additions to existing
Replacement of Old Coat of Arms
Provision of Mobile Structure as interim measures
FOCUS FOR 2006/2007
 Provide Signage in all facilities
 Development and implementation of Facilities
Management System
 Enhancement of Virtual Library Project
 Identification and Acquisition of site for new buildings
 Building Capacity for Management of Devolved
Budget from Department of Public Works
BUDGET 2006/2007
Function
Budget
INFRUSTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
Capital Works
R268 138 M
RAMP
R 50 000 M
Accommodation Charges
R109 444 M ***
Leases
R114 192 M***
Municipality Services
R 87 697 M***
Day to Day Maintenance
R 21 500 M***
Upgrading of Infrastructure
R 38 315 M
GG and Judges Vehicles
R 28 836 M
Libraries / High Court
R
Sub-Total
R718 845 M
2 000 M
SECURITY
Guarding Services
R 40 000 M
Cash In Transit
R 50 000 M
Physical Security Infrastructure
R 17 865 M
Subtotal
R107 865 M
TOTAL
R826 710 M
BUDGET 2006/2007
 A total of R233 389 Mil has been transferred from the
Department of Public Works as part of the Devolution of Budget
 An additional amount of R70 000 Mil to be transferred for
Planned Maintenance
 The department to continue utilizing the DPW expertise in
project management
 SLA to be entered into with Public Works with regard to the
management of budget
 The department to look at capacity building for the purpose of
management of the budget allocation from Public Works
PROGRAM 5
FAMILY ADVOCACY
Court Services and DOJCD
Challenges
In general, the following remain challenges:

Courts have been under funded for years and as a result they have not been
able to meet the demands that were brought by a plethora of legislation passed
after the advent of the constitutional order.

Staff shortages at courts, particularly to deal with maintenance matters,
domestic violence and victim support work (i.e. relating to the implementation
of new legislation), leading to poor service delivery (long queues etc.) in some
areas.

Lack of culture of management through information, to proactively manage
courts based on court performance information

The capital works programme, which is a medium to long-term programme
makes it difficult to address historical imbalances in relation to access to
courts in previously disadvantaged areas.

Corruption in relation to management of monies in trust is still present.

There is an urgent need to strengthen the administrative support to the Chief
Justice and Heads of Courts, the Judicial Services Commission and the
Magistrates’ Commission.
Priorities for 2006
 Roll out RAB
 Transformation of judiciary including alignment JSC






and MC
CJS Review
Legislation: 6 Bills
Security
Creation of court capacity
Improving court support services
Monitoring court performance
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION