Mabandla promises transformation

Speaking during the debate on the President’s State of the Nation Address, Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla told Members of Parliament that government is committed to a restructured court system, a transformed judiciary and transformation of the legal sector (see 2008 (March) DR 2). In her speech in February, the Minister told MPs that a variety of stakeholders have, over the past three years, made invaluable contributions towards the transformation of the judiciary in the country. She said members of the attorneys’ profession and the bar have contributed immensely in the drafting of the Legal Services Charter, which will be tabled in Parliament this year (see also 15 of this issue). While legislation on the renaming of High Court divisions has already been put before Parliament for deliberation, the Minister said in her speech she was confident the long-awaited legislation on the restructuring ofSouth African courts will be tabled before the end of the year (see 2008 (March) DR 16). On the Traditional Courts Bill, the Minister told MPs the draft policy on the South African traditional justice system has been completed and will be put before Parliament during the course of the year. In February this year, the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) also made a written submission to the Justice Portfolio Committee in Parliament on the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend the Magistrates’ Courts Act 32 of 1994. In its submission to the committee, the LSSA called for the upgrade of infrastructure in regional courts and for proper training of judicial officers in order to deal with all the backlogs. ‘To the extent that the existing system might not meet the needs of our society, there must be transformation. Society develops and changes over time and the legalsystem must adapt to meet its needs but, at the same time, care must be taken so that the fundamental rules of justice are not compromised,’ chairperson of the LSSA’s Committee on Magistrates’ Courts, Cape Town attorney Graham Bellairs, said. He added that the LSSA and the legal profession at large support any means to further enhance the system in which access to justice is improved in order to uphold the rule of law. According to Mr Bellairs, access to justice at grassroots level is important to engender belief in and reliance on the country’s justice system. In welcoming the Minister’s speech, Mr Bellairs said the legal profession is generally supportive of the initiative taken in promulgating the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Bill.