Seminar and launch of video
Online Courts and Access to Justice

Regional Court President Jakkie Wessels, President of the Limpopo Regional Magistrates Courts

HSF; DGRU

Launch of training video, and great speakers

For the ‘hybrid’ seminar, some participants convened at a COVID-19 compliant venue in Cape Town, while others joined online. The event was also used to launch the new training video on how to conduct court proceedings online that was produced by DGRU with support from the HSF. Mbekezeli Benjamin from "Judges Matter" facilitated the discussion with great speakers: 

Regional Court President Jakkie Wessels, President, Limpopo Regional Magistrates Courts   

Judge Roland Sutherland, Acting Deputy Judge President, Gauteng High Court

Judge Glenn Goosen, Judge, Eastern Cape High Court, Acting Justice, Supreme Court of Appeal

Advocate Tererai Mafukidze, Advocate of the High Court.

Watch the training video here:

Judge Glenn Goosen, Judge of the Eastern Cape High Court and Acting Justice in the Supreme Court of Appeal

HSF; DGRU

The judiciary during Covid-19 - sharing experience

All speakers and participating practitioners spoke frankly about their experiences and talked about the initial challenges, as well as lessons learned. For example, Judge Glenn Goosen explained why no criminal trials were run until level 3 lockdown. For Sutherland, the move to online courts in Gauteng was generally smooth, but he also pointed out that open courts are difficult to be held in digital format, as people could not attend court proceedings as usual. However, YouTube recordings could provide at least some transparency. Judge Jakkie Wessels gave practical insights into what was done in Limpopo to keep the lower courts running during the hard lockdown, and how prioritisation took place to reduce backlogs in civil and criminal cases.

Advocate Tererai Mafukidze Advocate of the High Court

HSF; DGRU

Online courts now and in the future

Advocate Tererai Mafukidze described the difficulties to access the courts he and his clients experienced during the initial closure of the courts, and the challenges for some clients and colleagues to cover overhead and data costs, and to acquire adequate technical equipment. The extremely interesting and practical discussion revolved around concerns that the conduct of digital courts may not conform yet to the court rules in the same way as normal court proceedings, and how to ensure that each party gets a fair trial. However, speakers and participants agreed that the many positive experiences gained with digital courts and the introduction of supporting technology could help increase the efficiency of courts in the future, and improve access to justice in Africa in the long run.

You can watch a recording of the seminar here:

Great interest from participants and media

The importance of the topic and its practical relevance was also demonstrated by the high number of participants, including the Deputy Minister of Justice, and the high interest of the press.

The Daily Maverick (https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-04-08-moving-courts-online-inhibits-transparency-says-judge-goosen/) among others, reported on the seminar - as did SABC television News in its report on online courts “Legal fraternity evolves, embraces a new normal amid COVID-19 pandemic".

SABC News report on online courts:

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