By Roland Routh
WINDHOEK – The Chief Justice Peter Shivute is satisfied with a raft of improvements that took place at the superior courts in recent times.
He however said more needs to be done to ensure the courts fulfil their mandate of delivering speedy and quality justice.
Shivute made the remarks during his speech at the launch of the inaugural legal year of the Supreme Court last week on Friday.
While the Supreme Court and the High Court have made significant strides in finalising cases, concern exists over the snail’s pace at which matters are dealt with at the magistrates’ courts, he said.
According to Shivute, the success achieved at the higher courts must now cascade down to the lower courts.
He ascribed those successes to the implementation of the new rules of the High Court which came into operation in June last year.
The introduction of court-connected mediation has led to a substantial number of cases being settled out of court, thus freeing valuable judicial time for the hearing of only those matters not susceptible to amicable resolution, he stated.
In fact, Shivute said, since court-connected mediation was introduced more than 50 percent of mediations ended in settlement, a remarkable achievement by any standard.
This must now be transferred to the lower courts, he said, adding that an appropriate legislative framework and administrative measures as contemplated under Article 78 of the Namibian constitution are in due process which will allow them to initiate reforms toward that goal.
“The lower courts are responsible for the highest number of cases filed in our courts, especially in criminal matters,” he stressed.
He continued that the lower courts are in fact the forum to which the majority of people relate.
It is of utmost importance, therefore, that their experience with those courts is not a negative one, Shivute emphasised.
He said the Judiciary needs to investigate on an urgent basis the causes for the many postponements occurring in courts and devise sensible solutions to arrest the problem.
The initiative taken by the Magistrates Commission in hand with the Ministry of Justice to deal with the case backlog is commendable, he said, but stressed it will require being complemented by additional tested measures.
He says training will assume a key role in the judiciary’s renewal in the years ahead.
He said they need to empower people to assume leadership positions, not only in the new Office of the Judiciary, but also as magistrates and judges.
He said great emphasis will be placed on moulding a judiciary and judicial culture which are responsive to the ever-changing needs of Namibia’s diverse and multi-cultural society.
The chief justice further said an integral part of the justice system will be e-justice, which will be rolled out soon at the new revamped High Court.
E-justice will reduce the appearances of legal practitioners before a judge and in the same vein reduce legal fees.