While the Gauteng Division of the High Court (Pretoria and Johannesburg) is struggling to cope with the heavy workload, mainly due to too much work and too few judges, there may be light at the end of the tunnel as the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is looking to fill eight vacancies in this division.
The JSC has called for nominations to fill these vacancies, as well as for candidates to apply for two vacancies in the Constitutional Court. It will also accept nominations of candidates to fill one vacancy in the Supreme Court of Appeal, one in the Land Court, as well as for three vacancies in the Johannesburg Labour Court.
Two vacancies are open in the Mpumalanga division, while there is one vacancy open in the Free State and Limpopo divisions. The KwaZulu-Natal division has five vacancies available.
Interviews of the shortlisted candidates are due to take place from October 6 to October 17.
A Pretoria law firm, which has turned to the Constitutional Court for direct access in an urgent bid to overturn a directive introducing mandatory mediation in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, has, meanwhile, received the green light from the apex court that it will hear the matter.
Since last month, the Johannesburg and Pretoria high courts no longer allocate trial dates for civil cases (cases where evidence is being led, such as damages claims). Litigants in these cases who want a judge to determine their issues must first prove that they have tried to resolve their issues via mediation. A trial date will be allocated only if mediation does not resolve the issues, and they can prove via a certificate that they did try it.
The Office of the Chief Justice earlier explained that there are no alternatives as the Gauteng divisions cannot cope with the heavy workload.
Gert Nel Inc Attorneys, through its director Gert Nel, however, questioned whether this move for mandatory mediation is constitutionally sound.
Nel wants the Constitutional Court to look into whether there are constitutional limits on judicial power. He will argue that the directive amounts to the “erosion of litigants’ rights through unlawful judicial overreach”.
The head of the Gauteng Division of the High Court (Judge Mlambo), cited as the first respondent on the application, as well as the Secretary General: Office of the Chief Justice, cited as the third respondent, issued a notice to the Constitutional Court that they will oppose the application.
No date has yet been set for the hearing.
zelda.venter@inl.co.za
