scholarly journals A critical analysis of the inefficacy of Court-Annexed Mediation (CAM) in South Africa – lessons from Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-54
Author(s):  
EC Muller ◽  
◽  
CL Nel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
South African ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
Optimal Functioning ◽  
Civil Justice System

As a result of defects in the South African civil justice system, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development introduced voluntary court-annexed mediation (CAM) in the magistrates’ courts in 2014. CAM was chosen under the broader need for greater access to justice because it has the potential to make dispute resolution efficient, amicable, and affordable. It can, therefore, contribute to access to justice for all members of society. Since the amendment of the Magistrates’ Court Rules to provide for CAM, the uptake of mediation in terms of the CAM system has unfortunately been inadequate. The aim of this article is to identify reasons for the inefficacy of CAM since its implementation. We use normative research to critically analyse existing court rules and authority. We conclude that there are several reasons for CAM’s inefficacy which are elucidated in the main text. It is important to understand these reasons, as the legislature presents CAM as a mechanism to improve access to justice. From this platform, we evaluate the mechanisms for court-connected alternative dispute resolutions provided by the Nigerian Multi-Door Courthouse (MDC) system. This reveals policies and practices that could potentially improve the efficacy of CAM in South Africa, as these relate to the factors identified as impediments to the optimal functioning of CAM in our civil justice system. As such, we identify valuable lessons that can be learned from this comparison. Building hereon, and on the conclusions reached elsewhere in the article, we postulate that the mediation scheme, as contemplated by Rule 41A of the Uniform Rules of Court (as applied in the superior courts), should also be implemented in the magistrates’ courts. The article concludes that improving CAM in South Africa is of critical importance to advancing access to justice and departing from a culture of conventional adversarial dispute resolution.

scholarly journals The new Civil Procedure Rules. 1. The process of dispute resolution and litigation

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Rix
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Expert Witness ◽  
Civil Procedure ◽  
Previous Article ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Civil Justice System

In the second of my previous two articles on the role of the expert witness, I anticipated the implementation of Lord Woolf's proposed reforms to the civil justice system in England and Wales (Rix, 1999). These changes came into effect on 26 April 1999 and they represent the most radical changes to the civil justice system for a hundred years. In the previous article, it was not possible to do more than list a few of the key points relevant to experts. The purpose of this article is to describe the changes in detail and show how they will, or can be expected to, affect the role of the expert.

Referral fees – the business of access to justice

Legal Studies ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Justice System ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
Civil Justice System

The paper examines the controversial issue of referral fees for personal injury claims. It looks at the function of referral fees in the civil justice system, their relationship to the guarantees of access to court and the right to seek legal assistance in ECHR Art 6, and the debate about promoting access to justice or a litigious society. It examines the experience of the referral fees market in England and Wales, where the costs of referrals have risen dramatically and there is concern that referrers are auctioning their customers to the highest bidder rather than helping them find competent lawyers. Sir Rupert Jackson recommended banning referral fees in his report on the costs of civil litigation, and the Government has announced it will implement this recommendation. The paper considers the potential effects of a ban on competition in the legal services market and its compatibility with UK and EU competition law. The paper argues that a combination of better regulation of the industry and proper regulation of costs rules is a better and more proportionate way of controlling legal costs and the quality of legal services than an outright ban. While referral fees have not delivered all the benefits one would expect from a for-profit independent referrals service, they can help people obtain information about their legal rights, and competent lawyers to enforce them. This service is particularly valuable given that the state has substantially cut public funding of the civil justice system in recent years.

scholarly journals DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM: THE NEED FOR MORE APPROPRIATE APPROACHES

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
MAT Nyenti
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
South African ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Legal Assistance ◽  
The Right ◽  
Resolution Processes ◽  
Social Security Beneficiaries

The right to social security in South Africa is adjudicated and enforced mainly by means of litigation. This article examines litigation as a mechanism for the resolution of social security disputes in South Africa and its impact on both the right to have access to court and to social security. It argues that court-based adjudication may not be the most appropriate means of adjudicating social security claims. This is particularly as South Africa is a country where social security beneficiaries have limited knowledge of the laws and procedures, coupled with a lack of publicly-provided legal assistance/representation for social security cases. Dispute resolution mainly through the courts may contribute to the limitation of their right to seek redress and by implication, their right to have access to social security. Finally, the article proposes the investigation of more appropriate dispute-resolution processes. This is due to the failure of court-based adjudication to ensure access to justice (and to social security); constitutional requirements arising from the protection of the rights of access to justice and to social security; the Constitution’s focus on protecting persons who are particularly vulnerable and desperate; the availability of other (more appropriate) dispute-resolution mechanisms; and the relatively successful implementation of these mechanisms in the resolution of social security disputes in comparative jurisdictions. 

Integrating Alternative Dispute Resolution into South African Criminal Jurisprudence: An Urgent Need for Law Reforms

Politeia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prince Pius Imiera
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
South African ◽  
Alternative Dispute Resolution ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The South ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
Criminal Jurisprudence

This article argues for the inclusion of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) into the criminal justice administration of South Africa, which will ultimately result in the comprehensive legal transformation of the country’s justice system. Non-traditional dispute resolution processes, which fall within the context of ADR, are globally accepted and have been implemented in different dispute contestations. The argument whether ADR should be applied in a criminal justice context, poses normative questions concerning the function of the justice system, and sociological questions concerning the nature of criminals and crimes. Crime rates in South Africa are high and the criminal justice system may be unable to cope with the floodgates of formal litigation. In this context the article argues for the integration of ADR into the South African criminal justice system. Two major research problems are addressed through reviewing existing literature and doing desktop research. The first aspect concerns the integration of ADR into the South African criminal justice system with a view to effecting law reforms. Second, the question regarding the roles of traditional rulers in resolving criminal disputes is explored. The conclusions reached relate to the need for law reformation in South Africa, particularly in respect of the integration of ADR into criminal jurisprudence, in order to become aligned with other jurisdictions the world over.

8. The Civil Justice System

2020 ◽  
pp. 223-253
Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Legal Structure ◽  
System P ◽  
Default Judgment ◽  
Civil Justice System

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This chapter discusses the civil justice system. Civil justice is concerned with the private dispute between individuals in the absence of the state. It seeks to solve disputes before they have had a chance to enter the legal structure, through the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Civil justice follows a similar pattern to its criminal counterpart; however, some of the procedural rules—specifically those relating to evidence—appear to be much more relaxed than in the criminal justice system. During the process of civil justice, a number of issues may arise which would bring the procedure to an end. These issues include ADR, through which parties may decide to settle the case at any point; default judgment, wherein judgment may be entered against a defendant at any point in the proceedings; and offers to settle, known as ‘Part 36 Offers’, in which an individual makes an offer to another without prejudice.

8. The Civil Justice System

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Thomas ◽  
Claire McGourlay
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Legal Structure ◽  
System P ◽  
Default Judgment ◽  
Civil Justice System

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. This chapter discusses the civil justice system. Civil justice is concerned with the private dispute between individuals in the absence of the state. It seeks to solve disputes before they have had a chance to enter the legal structure, through the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Civil justice follows a similar pattern to its criminal counterpart; however, some of the procedural rules — specifically those relating to evidence — appear to be much more relaxed than in the criminal justice system. During the process of civil justice, a number of issues may arise which brings the procedure to an end. These issues include ADR, through which parties may decide to settle the case at any point; default judgment, wherein judgment may be entered against a defendant at any point in the proceedings; and offers to settle, known as a ‘Part 36 Offer’, in which an individual makes an offer to another without prejudice.

scholarly journals Moving on from a judicial preference for mediation to embed appropriate dispute resolution

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-354
Author(s):  
Masood Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Civil Justice System ◽  
Court Of Appeal ◽  
Potential Use

This paper critically considers judicial approaches to and promotion of mediation within the English civil justice system. It argues that the overzealous judicial emphasis on mediation in the ADR jurisprudence has restricted the wider concepts of ADR and ‘dispute resolution’ which in turn has created what the author terms ‘judicial mediation bias’. The paper critically explores these issues through an analysis of the ADR jurisprudence, with a focus on key Court of Appeal ADR authorities, and successive civil justice reforms. The paper makes proposals for reform, including the potential use of stages one and two of Lord Justice Briggs’ online court to promote a greater application of a variety of ADR procedures, in particular, judicial early neutral evaluation and collaborative dispute resolution.

8. The civil and commercial justice systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 218-252
Author(s):  
Martin Partington
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Alternative Dispute Resolution ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
High Court ◽  
Justice Systems ◽  
Appeal Courts ◽  
Civil Justice System

This chapter discusses the civil and commercial justice systems. It considers the purpose of the civil justice system and also covers the use of alternative dispute resolution and the incentives to keep disputes out of the court. It looks at the court structure, the county court, the High Court, the newly created Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, and other courts and offices. It considers possible changes that may result from the Transformation programme and the civil and commercial justice systems’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also considers routes of appeal and the work of the appeal courts.

8. The civil and commercial justice systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 210-242
Author(s):  
Martin Partington
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Alternative Dispute Resolution ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
High Court ◽  
Justice Systems ◽  
Appeal Courts ◽  
Civil Justice System

This chapter discusses the civil and commercial justice systems. It considers the purpose of the civil justice system and also covers the use of alternative dispute resolution and the incentives to keep disputes out of the court. It looks at the court structure, the county court, the High Court, the newly created Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, and other courts and offices. It considers possible changes that may follow the courts and tribunals transformation project. It also considers routes of appeal and the work of the appeal courts.

scholarly journals The provision of interpreting services in isiZulu and South African Sign Language in selected courts in KwaZulu-Natal

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nontobeko Lynette Mnyandu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
South African ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Judicial Assistance

IsiZulu is a previously marginalized language and is spoken by 78% of people in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa.info 2012). Signed language on the other hand, is not an official language in South Africa, although it is recognised despite the profession having undergone major transformation since democracy. This study hypothesizes that isiZulu and South African Sign Language interpreters both face challenges when given interpreting assignments. This study aims to create an awareness of the needs of the isiZulu speakers and deaf people when seeking judicial assistance and also to contribute towards the provision of quality interpreting services in some of the courts in KwaZulu-Natal. With this study it is hoped to assist the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to be able to see where they can still improve on their system. This study was conducted only in four courts, therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to be the same in all the courts in South Africa. IsiZulu kusewulimi obelucindezelwe, kanti lusetshenziswa abantu abangamaphesenti angama-78 KwaZulu-Natali (SouthAfrica.info 2012). Ulimi lwezandla ngakolunye uhlangothi, akulona ulimi olusemthethweni eNingizimu Afrika nangale koshintsho oluningi olwenziwe kusukela kwaqala intando yabantu. Lolu cwaningo lucabangela ukuthi otolika besiZulu kanye naboLimi Lwezandla babhekana nezingqinamba uma benikwe umsebenzi wokutolika. Lolu cwaningo Iuhlose ukwazisa ngezidingo zabantu abakhuluma isiZulu kanye nabangezwa uma bedinga usizo lwezomthetho kanye nokuxhasa ekunikezeleni ukutolika okusezingeni elifanele kwezinye zezinkantolo KwaZulu-Natali. Ngalolu cwaningo kuthenjwa ukuthi luzosiza uMnyango Wobulungiswa kanye nokuThuthukiswa koMthethosisekelo ukuba ubone ukuthi yikuphi la okungalungiswa khona inqubo yokwenza yawo. Lolu cwaningo lwenziwe ezinkantolo ezine kuphela, ngakho-ke okutholakele ngeke kuze kuthathwe ngokuthi kuyafana ezinkantolo zonke zaseNingizimu Afrika.

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