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Justice system ]
Administration of justice
Role of the Department of Justice &
Constitutional Development
The objective of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is to uphold and protect the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and the rule of law. It also aims to render accessible, fair, speedy and cost-effective administration of justice in the interest of a safer and more secure South Africa.
The department's four national core branches are Court
Services, Master of the High Court, Legal Advisory Services, and
Legislation and Constitutional Development.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) forms a separate programme on the department’s Budget Vote.
To ensure the efficiency of its services and enhance accessibility, the NPA,
Court Services and the Master of the High Court have established provincial
and local structures linked to courts to co-ordinate the implementation of
national policy. Legal Advisory Services has also established state-attorney
offices in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Port Elizabeth, East London, Thohoyandou and Durban to provide
decentralised services.
The following constitutional institutions, among other things, were established to strengthen
constitutional democracy:
- the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) promotes and monitors
the observance of human rights in South Africa
- the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) aims to create a society free from gender
discrimination and any other forms of oppression
- the Public Protector investigates any alleged
improper, unlawful or prejudicial conduct in state
affairs or in public administration in any sphere
of government.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development administers the following public entities:
- the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) provides professional forensic investigating and litigation
services to all state institutions at national, provincial and local level to combat
maladministration, corruption and fraud, and to protect state assets and public money
- the Legal Aid Board provides legal aid and representation to indigent people at the State’s expense.
The department has received a further R1,9 billion
to, among other things, increase court capacity,
reduce case backlogs, modernise the integrated
justice sector, and increase the statutory provisions
for judges and magistrates’ salaries over the next
three years.
Between 2003/04 and 2009/10, the
department’s budget is expected to increase at an
average annual rate of 13,6%, from R5 billion to
R10,6 billion.
The department’s total budget for the 2007/08
financial year was R8,5 billion. Some R2,9 billion
was allocated to the Court Services branch,
including R467 million to improve infrastructure.
Some R1,8 billion was allocated to the NPA and
R925 million went to the institutions.
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Judicial
system
The Constitution is the supreme law of the country and binds all legislative, executive and judicial organs of the State at all levels of government.
In terms of Section 165 of the Constitution, the judicial authority in South Africa is vested in the courts, which are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law.
No person or organ of state may interfere with the functioning of the courts, and an order or decision of a court binds all organs of state and persons to whom it applies.
Chapter Eight of the Constitution makes provision for
the following courts:
- Constitutional Court
- Supreme Court of Appeal
- high courts, including any high court of appeal
that may be established by an Act of Parliament
to hear appeals from high courts
- magistrates' courts
- any other court established or recognised in
terms of an Act of Parliament, including any court
of a status similar to either high courts or magistrates'
courts.
In line with this, Parliament also established special
income tax courts, the Labour Court and the Labour
Appeal Court, the Land Claims Court, the Competition
Appeal Court, the Electoral Court, divorce courts, "military courts" and equality courts.
The Minister of Justice and
Constitutional Development, Ms Brigitte Mabandla,
is leading a process to rationalise high courts. The
Superior Courts Bill [PDF], which was introduced in
Parliament in 2005, will abolish the last remnants of
the homeland-based supreme courts and will introduce
new provincial divisions of the High Court in each
province. Their jurisdiction and capacity will be
determined in accordance with people’s needs. This
will result in the opening of high courts in
Mpumalanga and Limpopo, which the Pretoria High Court currently
services.
There are 218 permanent judges and at any given
time and also a fluctuating number of acting judges.
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Crime prevention
The
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is one
of the five core departments in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster
that has been tasked with the implementation of the
National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS). This is
government's official strategy to combat, control and prevent
crime.
The main responsibilities of the department in the
implementation of the NCPS are to:
- promote legislation to create an effective criminal justice system (CJS)
- create an effective prosecution system
- create an effective court system for the adjudication
of cases
- co-ordinate and integrate the departmental activities of
all role-players involved in crime prevention.
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State legal services
State Legal Services provides government with legal services
and facilitates constitutional amendments through three
subprogrammes.
State Legal Services provides for the work of the
State Attorney and state law advisers. The former acts as
attorney, notary and conveyancer for government.
State law
advisers provide legal opinions for all organs of state, scrutinise and amend
international agreements, draft legislation and subordinate
legislation and attend
relevant parliamentary portfolio committees as legal
advisers for all national departments.
In the past 10 years, state law advisers certified
610 Bills, passed by Parliament. These Bills have
dealt with complex social, political and economic
issues. During the same period, they provided the
executive with 6 679 opinions, international agreements
and subordinate legislation.
Research conducted in the Office of the Chief State
Law Adviser suggests that the division saved the
State about R92 million in private legal fees in 2006.
The component hosts the National Forum Against Racism and facilitates South Africa's participation in the International Court for Criminal Justice.
Source: South Africa Yearbook 2007/08
Editor: D Burger. Government Communication and Information System [ Top ]
Last modified: 14 April 2008 12:53:35. |
