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7 December 2004

Programme Director, Advocate H. Mohamed
Honourable MECs
City of Cape Town Manager
Judicial Officers
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

On the occasion of the official opening of three “Hatfield Type” Community Courts in the Western Cape namely in Guguletu, Mitchell’s Plain and the Cape Town City Centre, it is a great honour for me to join you in celebrating this potential dawn of a new era in our crime fighting efforts.

The opening of these three courts is in line with and a fulfilment of President Mbeki’s pledge during his State-of-the-Nation address in May this year that: “We will, in the current financial year, establish at least two Community Courts in each province, modelled along the Hatfield Community Court in the City of Tshwane, which in the first month of its operation has already finalised 200 cases with a 100% conviction rate.” The President went on to say that: “From this financial year, the programme to set up specialised courts, including those dealing with commercial crimes and women and child abuse, will be intensified as will the process of transforming the entire judicial system”.

This potentially marks the dawn of a new era because Government has made it clear with this further new tool being introduced to fight crime that it will not tolerate any form of criminality whether regarded as serious or less so. For a long time petty criminal activities were not dealt with as vigorously as they ought to be. The establishment of the Community Courts is therefore a statement of intent that wherever or whatever petty crime is committed, it will be dealt with swiftly. It gives practical meaning to the concept zero tolerance in our fight against crime.

The community courts are district courts that deal with the same cases as normal district magistrates’ courts. The difference lies in the way in which services are integrated.

It is, however, not a “community court” in the real sense of the word. “Community courts” as a concept relate to the informal community justice structures in existence in several of the townships and the traditional courts in rural areas which all function as structures which assist in resolving less serious disputes for communities. In order that there is no confusion between the two categories of courts, we call the courts to be established by direction of the President, “Hatfield type courts”.

The Hatfield model is based on the USA model of dealing with small crimes, which then lead to less crime in general. The aim of these Hatfield type courts is to clean up the area in which it is placed of prevalent petty crime (thus becoming to some extent a court in the community) and they will focus in general on:

* The appropriate handling of certain district court cases from the target areas;
* Offences relating to drug and alcohol abuse;
* Offences relating to municipal by-laws;
* Petty offences like theft;
* Offenders will be dealt with immediately; and
* An effective diversion option or alternative sentences should where possible be considered and imposed.

The removal of these cases from our court rolls in the Magistrates’ Courts mean that we can devote more time to more serious crimes without delaying the processing and finalisation of so called petty crimes.

Regarding the roll-out of the Community Courts country-wide, twenty-seven (27) possible sites have been identified by the teams of stakeholders in each province for the establishment of the community courts and feasibility studies are being done in this regard on ground level.

In addition to Hatfield and the three Western Cape courts, eight (8) pilot projects have also commenced on a trial basis using existing resources. They are:

* Umtata on 1 July 2004;
* Bloemfontein on 19 July 2004;
* Thohoyandou on 1 July 2004;
* Kimberley on 2 August 2004;
* Phuthaditjaba on 2 August 2004;
* Kwa-Mashu in October 2004;
* Orlando in November 2004; and
* Point in Durban in November 2004.

These various courts in operation have jointly already, by September 2004, finalised 2188 cases with a 96% conviction rate, and in addition thereto, have also finalised 143 cases by way of diversions. Diversion is an important issue as we want to deal with especially children in a different manner. The statistics clearly shows that these courts are working.

Statistics for the Community Courts in the Western Cape for the 7 court days which they sat in November 2004 were equally good. Fezeka: 74 cases, of which 70 were found, guilty and 4 not guilty; Mitchells Plain: 76 cases, all guilty.

I want to hasten to add that when I quote these statistics it is not a competition with numbers as an end goal. We really need to ensure at all times that justice is administered fairly and that at the end of the day we can say with confidence that justice has not only been done but was seen to be done. I also want to stress that it is of no use that we impose fines or sentences in relation to petty matters that result in the persons in question going to jail simply because they cannot afford the fine. Our jails are already 170% overcrowded with serious criminals – we should not be adding to that burden with petty offenders. So it is a question of always finding the right balance. Presiding Officers have an important role to play here. Quality is as important as quantity.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development recognises that our courts are the frontispiece of the criminal justice system, for it is in the court that the public openly witness the system in action. I therefore believe that it is highly critical that these courts be located within the communities that they are intended to serve. We also need to bear in mind that these courts should as far as possible be set up from existing resources because they are dealing with cases which come from that community and which would have been part of the existing courts court rolls in any case. We also need to clearly ensure their sustainability and affordability.

I want to stress that these are not NPA courts or Business courts – the NPA and other role players surely have responsibilities in assuring a proper public private partnership and they all have a role in assisting with the setting up of these courts, but they are Departmental courts and are part of the normal court system. It is important not to create the impression that these are second grade courts and not part of the justice system.

Whilst saying that, I need to acknowledge that we can never enough emphasise the importance of community involvement in government projects which have a direct bearing on our society. Community involvement is vital if these courts’ facilities and those who work in them are to fully fulfil their role. Court facilities on their own cannot ensure that justice is fully dispensed with and accessible to all members of our communities. It is the staff from the various partners in the criminal justice sector, the community in which the court facility is rooted and the many civil and community partners, who are also important in collaboratively fighting crime.

We are therefore very pleased that our business partners have once again come to the party in a big way. Government, at all its levels, recognises as important and encourages the full participation of civil society in service delivery. These partnerships have become valuable in ensuring that our services, such as the dispensation of justice, reach more and more people. It was Vaclav Havel, the former President of the Czech Republic, who once spoke of the need for what he termed: “non-political politics,” in dealing with matters of national interest. With this he called on all members of society to get involved with issues of governance and to complement one another in pursuit of a goal that is greater than anyone of us. This is the spirit of letsema which, in 2002, President Mbeki called on all South Africans to embrace, in order to help the less fortunate.

Improved access and interaction with the system at all levels will inevitably build the understanding of the general population about court processes. In this way our people whether in the metropolitan areas, townships or even rural areas will get to see, at first hand, justice being done and in action. This understanding is in turn critical to the development of our fledgling democracy. Respect for the process and the decisions of the courts will lead to high regard for the institutions of democracy, such as the court system, and this will in turn engender respect for democracy. The courts are the cornerstones of justice. If the courts do not operate effectively and efficiently, the administration of justice fails and the promise of access to justice, contained in our Bill of Rights, becomes meaningless.

It is important to note that the cooperation of all state law enforcement agencies is critical for this project to succeed. I am pleased to see so many Police Officers here today. The hallmark of this Government has been the focus on integrated service delivery through the cluster system that was introduced in 1999. All levels of Government Departments know that a multi-disciplinary approach is the only way to maximise our efforts in delivering quality services. We have ample proof of that, let there be no regression from this way of doing things.

However, there is also a need for a word of caution. It is important that we not take these courts as a solution to all our problems. There are many other tools. We have begun to notice some problems at Hatfield, especially with regard to the movement of crime to neighbouring areas backlogs and court hours.

In conclusion, I call on the communities in which these three courts will be located to form lasting partnerships with these courts and ensure that they are accessible and dispense justice effectively and efficiently. To our officials, I would like to say that like our fledgling democracy, these “Hatfield type” Community Courts will be judged through their ability to deliver quality justice to those that need it the most. Our task, as Eleanor of Aquitane (1122 – 1204) noted centuries back when she said that: “Trees are not known by their leaves, nor by their blossoms, but by their fruits,” is to deliver tangible justice to all the people of South Africa.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to now officially declare these three Western Cape “Hatfield type” Community Courts open. May all who enter here experience and witness true and prompt justice.

I thank you!

Issued by: Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development
7 December 2004
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (http://www.doj.gov.za)