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ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15

ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15. Briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services October 2015. contents. CONTENTS. Introduction Policy Updates Performance Overview Organisational Overview Programme Performance 5.1 Programme 1: Administration

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ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15

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  1. ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15 Briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services October 2015

  2. contents CONTENTS • Introduction • Policy Updates • Performance Overview • Organisational Overview • Programme Performance • 5.1 Programme 1: Administration • 5.2 Programme 2: Court Services • 5.3 Programme 3: State Legal Services • 5.4 Programme 4: National Prosecuting Authority • 5.5 Programme 5: Auxiliary and Associated Services • Conclusion

  3. INTRODUCTION 1. INTRODUCTION Vision A transformed and accessible justice system which promotes and protects social justice and Rule of Law. Mission To provide transparent, responsive and accountable justice for all. Principles And Values: Constitutional Values and a Culture of Human Rights; Promotion of the Rule of Law; Batho Pele; Good Governance; Ubuntu; Professionalism and Continuous Improvement; and Transparency.

  4. introduction 1. INTRODUCTION Strategic Goals The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) has the critical mandate of ensuring that justice is realised by all in South Africa in our Constitutional Democracy. In promoting this, the Department continued in the period under review with the pursuance of the following strategic goals: • Enhanced organisational performance on all aspects of administration in line with set standards, and meeting and exceeding the needs and aspirations of key stakeholders. 2. To facilitate the (effective and efficient) resolution of criminal, civil, and family law disputes by providing accessible, efficient and quality administrative support to the courts. 3. Effective and cost-efficient provision of state legal services that anticipate, meet and exceed stakeholder needs and expectations. 4. Effective coordination of the JCPS Cluster in the delivery of Outcome 3. 5. Promotion of the Constitution and its values.

  5. BROAD POLICY IMPERATIVES 1. INTRODUCTION The presentation of the 1014/15 financial year must be viewed in light of on-policy discourse on the following in particular: (a) Institutional Reforms (Court Administration) There need for the acceleration of the development of a policy and legislative framework on court administration that is congruent with South Africa’s constitutional democracy. From a policy perspective the model must, in particular: (i) recognise and affirm the role of the three Branches of State, within their respective constitutional mandates, in relation to the administration of justice; (ii) acknowledge the oversight role of Parliament over the Executive and thereby ensuring that the latter carries-out its constitutional mandate relating to the implementation of laws, policies, programmes, decisions and orders of courts, and account to Parliament for the budget voted for that purposes by the latter; (iii) acknowledge and respect the powers and functions of the Cabinet member responsible for the administration of justice as contemplated in Chapter 8 of the Constitution, particularly section 165(4) of the Constitution. It is also important that the Minister responsible for the administration of justice exercises powers and functions relating to the Courts and Administration of Justice with due regard to the responsibility of the Chief Justice in terms of section 165(6) of the Constitution. The Superior Courts Act spells out the judicial functions that have crystallised overtime through jurisprudence (Valente, De Lange v Smuts). Cabinet is still seized of the matter which will become a subject of a public discourse (Colloquium) and ultimately culminate into a legislative process in the not so distant future. Ideally the end-state will replace the current OCJ model which, despite its imperfections, real or perceived, provides insightful lessons.

  6. BROAD POLICY IMPERATIVES 1. INTRODUCTION (b) Transforming the Lower Courts to advance access to justice • The Superior Courts Act sets out a Blueprint that should guide the development of a comprehensive overhaul of the Lower Courts under the reform of the out-dated Magistrates Courts Act, 1944 • Contemplated under the Lower Courts dispensation will be a policy consideration for courts that will operate at municipal level to incorporate the emerging traffic courts; other forms of less adversarial adjudication including community courts and court-annexed mediation • Consultations with key internal stakeholders are underway which are key to crafting a design that comes closest to the transformative imperative that accords to a people-centred judicial system that advances access to justice. • The anticipated Bill (Lower Courts Bill) is planned for introduction in the current term of the fifth administration. (c) Multi-lingualism and transformation of the LLB curriculum • Multi-lingualism as a constitutional imperative requires parity of languages. This calls for the development of indigenous languages in particular within the legal sector. The Use of Official Languages Act of 2012 supports this objective • Whilst the restructuring of the LLB seeks to address issues of quality and substance of the curriculum, the department has advocated the need to prescribe an indigenous language as a requirement for the LLB degree • At the level of continuing education, SAJEI, as part of social context training should develop appropriate training on diversity and indigenous language proficiency

  7. BROAD POLICY IMPERATIVES 1. INTRODUCTION (d) Transformation of the Traditional Courts • The Constitution recognises Traditional Courts and there is an acknowledgment, generally, that the traditional justice system has an important role in the administration of justice (a point affirmed by the Judiciary at the 2011 Access to Justice Conference; • A fundamental transformative imperative is the creation of a legislative framework in order to ensure that these courts, which continue to exist and dispense justice in accordance to customary law, function ito of the Constitution • A process to draft a draft Bill is underway. The Bill will be preceded by a concept document explaining the history of the legal practice Bill and an analysis of the views expressed during the Parliamentary processes before the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces respectively • Key to matters that will be addressed by the Bill are matters that pertain to the following, among others: • Preferred name for traditional courts/tribunals/fora/makgotla and of Bill • The role and involvement of women in the traditional justice system • Impact of concurrent legislative competency of national/provincial • Jurisdiction / demarcation beyond old tribal boundaries • Conflict / choice of laws • Criminal / civil jurisdiction / sanctions vis-à-vis community service sanctions • Developmental jurisprudence that transforms customary law • The draft Bill is envisaged for introduction into Parliament before the end of the 2015 calendar year.

  8. POLICY UPDATES 1. INTRODUCTION (e) Court-Annexed Mediation • To enhance access to justice the Department is implementing a Court-Annexed Mediation Programme that is geared to introduce a less adversarial system of dispute resolution of a civil nature. The programme is implemented in Gauteng and North West provinces as a pilot project and has been running since its launch in Mahikeng on 16 February 2015 • As part of the pilot, a total of 237 mediators have been accredited by the Minister to provide mediation servicesat the selected sites as published by Notice n the Gazette. Also appointed at the pilot site were 55 law interns that that were trained as court mediation clerks • An Advisory Committee established by the Minister to advise on operational and policy imperatives arising from the pilot has prepared a comprehensive report for consideration by the Minister which outlines lessons garnered and challenges experienced during the pilot. It is the Minister’s desire that the report and recommendations be discussed in a stakeholder workshop to guide the rollout of this important programme. The report will constitute one of the themes for the anticipated Colloquium which will take place before the end of the 2015/16 financial year.

  9. POLICY UPDATES 1. INTRODUCTION (f) Transformation of State Legal Services The State Attorney Amendment Act of 2014 provided for the creation of the functionary of the Solicitor General to oversee all state litigation. Furthermore the Legal Practice Act of 2014 was finalised and parts thereof were put into operation. The Legal Practice Act provides a framework for the fundamental transformation of the legal profession in order to broaden access to justice. Parts 1 and 2 of Chapter 10 dealing with the National Forum on the Legal Profession were put into operation in February 2015. The National Forum has been established. (g) National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (NAP) The Draft 13 of the National Action Plan was amended and finalised in accordance with published United Nations Practical Guide on Developing National Action Plans against Racial Discrimination. The National Action Plan provides the basis for the development of a comprehensive public policy against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

  10. POLICY UPDATES 1. INTRODUCTION • The LGBTI programme was launched during the 2014/15 financial year. The following were also launched; • Terms of Reference of the National Task Team on gender and sexual orientation-based violence perpetrated against LGBTI persons; • Terms of Reference of the Rapid Response Team; • National Intervention Strategy on gender-based and sexual orientation-based violence and • Intersectoral Communication Plan on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of LGBTI Persons. • 23 of the 45 cases received from the Civil Society Organisations have been finalised. Furthermore the “withdrawn” and “undetected” have been recalled to analyse whether proper processes were followed before cases were classified as “withdrawn” or “undetected”. • The Legal Practice Act and the transformation of the legal profession • Key to the transformation of the legal profession is the establishment of the National Forum on the Legal Profession. As required by Law to do so the National Forum has submitted its first report which was submitted to Parliament this week. The report focuses mainly on organisational aspects and the subsequent report will deal with the substantive work emanating from the LPA. (h) National Intervention Strategy on crimes against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersexual (LGTBI) community

  11. DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW

  12. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 • The Department sustained the unqualified audit opinion on the Vote Account for three consecutive years, as illustrated below. • With the exception of Third Party Funds, all funds have sustained clean audits. Table 1: Audit outcomes for the vote and funds under management

  13. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW • Third Party Funds • Summary of TPF issues 13

  14. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW Audit Findings: • Third Party Funds • Long outstanding debtors not impaired • Treatment of reconciling items on the bank reconciliation – linked to legacy/opening balances • Non submission of information for audit purposes (R155 000 of which R148 000 in 1 court) • Limitation misstatements payables /receivables– system error • Actual misstatements identified – R900 and R10850 (Cut Off)

  15. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW Major Audit Findings • Third Party Funds

  16. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW THE AG Assessment on 2014/15 Audit • Third Party Funds • There is a decrease in the overall and locations with respect to findings on limitations of scope. • Also the controls over daily processing of transactions have improved and there were significantly fewer instances of incorrect recording of transactions. • New TPF System - This is probably the single most important factor that must be addressed. Whilst the current administration systems are sufficient for administration purposes the procurement or development of a suitable financial systems is paramount in achieving regular financial reporting and ensuring accurate financial reporting to all stakeholders • Legacy issues - In order to move TPF forward all invalid balances need to be identified and ring-fenced. Until this exercise takes place, the audit outcomes will not change positively as it is the old balances which TPF carries on its financial statements, but cannot be verified due to the time period that has lapsed, that is impeding its ability to move to an improved audit outcome.

  17. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW SCOPA Guidance • Third Party Funds • Accounting Officer fast track the implementation of a new accounting system to replace the Justice Deposit Accounting System (JDAS) to ensure complete, accurate and reliable financial information reporting. – In progress (Testing and Piloting phase) • The vacancies at court level are filled with adequately skilled officials – Additional Staff at regional level were appointed (44) • Daily and monthly reconciliations processes are done – 84,9% of courts reconciling on a daily basis • Management trains staff at court and regional levels on basic financials controls and record keeping – 2296 Officials trained and assessed in 2014/15

  18. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW 2015/2016 Interventions • Third Party Funds • Continuation of data and system error clean-up • Interim financial statements for internal auditing – October and February • Restatement of prior year financial statements • Compliance reporting - Consequence management for non compliance on daily and monthly control activities • Initiate the deployment and capacity building activities for the new system • Loss management (write off considering impact on vote)

  19. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 • For the 2014/15 financial year, the Department had 92 planned indicators and 78 of these indicators had targets fully achieved, while 14 were partially achieved. • These performance translates to 85% of targets being achieved. • The progress on the implementation of the APP was monitored on a monthly basis and this process has enabled the Department to improve performance.

  20. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Key Areas of Achievement Improved Access to Justice Key achievements for the 2014/15 financial year include the following: An additional 3 Branch Courts were designated into full service courts during the year under review, bringing the total Branch Courts designated to full service courts to 32 as at end of 2014/15 financial year. 39 Magisterial districts in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces were aligned to municipal boundaries to enable easier access to justice services. 39 new Small Claims Courts were established enabling communities to institute minor civil claims in an affordable manner. 14 dedicated Sexual Offences court rooms were re-established in accordance with the Sexual Offences Courts Model.

  21. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Key Areas of Achievement • Improved Access to Justice • Key achievements for the 2014/15 financial year include the following: • 2. Service Delivery Highlights • Key achievements for the 2014/15 financial year include the following: • During the year under review, there was a 38% increase in the number of new matters • registered in Equality Courts. • 98% of maintenance beneficiaries received payment via EFT; This has reduced risks of theft and has decreased the amount of time it takes for beneficiaries to receive payment. • The payment of individual reparations to TRC victims has been concluded. Regulations on Basic Education and Higher Education and Training came into effect during 2014/15 financial year • A total of 244 cybercrime cases finalised with a conviction rate of 95% • Development of the case management system (PEAS and PEAST) to enable better management of cases in the Offices of the Master country wide • 1 398 legal opinions and certification of bills were finalised • A total of 319 149 criminal cases were finalised with a verdict of 92%

  22. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Key Areas of Achievement • Improved Administration • Key achievements for the 2014/15 financial year include the following: • A total of 5 258 335 court records have been digitised to eliminate challenges associated with lost records as well as to enable easier access and retrieval of records • The increase in the utilisation of the Audi-Visual Remand System. During the 2014/15 financial year, 10 019 criminal cases were postponed via the system. The usage of this system result in reduction of costs and risks associated with detainees being conveyed to the courts. • 84% of grievance and 69% of misconduct cases registered were finalised. • The Department remains committed in resolving client complaints on the Presidential Hotline. For the year under review, the database indicated that 85% of cases registered on the Presidential Hotline were finalised. • During the year under review, 14 of the 28 Criminal Justice System KPIs were successfully delivered. Furthermore the ICMS Criminal and SAPS CAS Integration continued to be implemented to a further 365 courts.

  23. ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Key Challenges • The difficult economic climate continues to hamper the Department’s ability to implement service delivery related improvements. These include; • Security services to safeguard lives and assets within our service points. • Implementation of a sustainable solution for digitisation of records • The cost of implementation of Occupation Specific Dispensation and other human resources related determination

  24. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE The purpose of this programme is to manage the Department, develop policies and strategies for the efficient administration of justice, and provide centralised support services. Strategic Objectives : • Increased compliance with prescripts for good governance • Reduction of fraud and corruption cases in the Department • Improved effectiveness of support services • Optimisation of ICT systems and infrastructure • Enhancement of human resource capacity for service delivery • Finalisation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) • Administration of the implementation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) of 2000 • Improved coordination of the JCPS cluster towards the delivery of Outcome 3 and the National Development Plan

  25. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 1: Increased compliance with prescripts for good governance The Department has achieved and sustained an unqualified audit opinion in the vote account, through: Putting together an Audit Action Plan to address findings made by Auditor-General and Internal Audit. Identifying areas of concern within the Department and undertaking audit projects to minimise risks identified. Ensuring compliance in all funds managed by the Department. The Department has noted concerns of AGSA regarding Third Party Funds and has put an intervention plan in place in addressing those issues.

  26. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 2: Reduction of fraud and corruption cases in the department In order to encourage a culture of ethics as well as dealing with unethical behaviour, the Department has developed a Fraud Prevention Plan. This plan includes awareness sessions. Investigations are also conducted on the reported fraud and corruption cases. In order to protect classified information of the state, the Department has put the process of vetting members of the senior management services

  27. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 3: Improved effectiveness of support services The Department continues to employ diversity of communication platforms and approaches in order to broaden access to justice for all. All planned activities were achieved. The target to finalise 82% of Presidential Hotline cases was exceeded, and a majority of these cases involved appeals of criminal cases. To ensure a continuous and incremental improvement in service delivery, the Department has an approved SDIP which set out service standards which clients can expect. During the year under review, 50% of the service standards were implemented.

  28. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 4: 0ptimisation of ICT systems and infrastructure The Department remains committed to the modernisation of the justice system which will enable improved service delivery and a decrease in costs of service. For the period under review, enhancements on ICMS Deceased Estates (Phase 3B) and Civil (Phase 1B) were concluded. The Department has embarked on the process to replace the Third Party Funds system. The new system is aimed at improving service efficiency, accountability and the automatic production of annual financial statements. The replacement of the system has a series of deliverables set over a multi-year period. During the year under review, a technology solution and implementation service provider were identified and the functional design of the solution was completed.

  29. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 5: Improved human resource services delivery The Department managed to end the financial year with a vacancy rate of 10% despite challenges related to OSD within a number of areas. With regards to women and People with disabilities, performance is shown on the table below A total of 459 interns were recruited during the year under review. Of particular concern is the vacancy rate of Magistrates which have an impact in finalisation of cases in courts.

  30. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 5: Improved human resource services delivery The Department has improved the management of grievance and misconduct cases and surpassed targets. The introduction of a new data collection mechanism, which includes the tracking of the age of cases and the training of labour relations officers, contributed to the target being exceeded. The reduction in the number of unresolved grievances has had a positive impact on the relationship between employees and their managers, which has allowed the emphasis to shift to performance and the delivery of services.

  31. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 5: Improved human resource services delivery Justice College trained 6 262 people against a target of 6 000. The break down of training courses is shown below: 32

  32. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 5: Improved human resource services delivery To promote gender equality, the Department integrate a gender perspective into existing policies and legislation. During the year under review, 2 policies and statues were assessed for gender equality, namely Sexual Harassment and Employment Equality policies and Divorce Act, 1979 and Matrimonial Property Act, 1984. The analysis revealed some gaps in the implementation procedures and recommendations were made to address such gaps.

  33. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 6: Finalisation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) As part of the recommendations of the TRC, the mortal remains of people killed during the struggle for liberation are traced and handed back to their families. During the year under review, two ceremonies were conducted in which the mortal remains of Mr Sechaba Lawrence Lesimola and Mr Richard Tumakgolo Lentsela were handed over to their families. In addition, eight communities were identified and prioritised for the completion of the needs analysis phase. During the year under review needs analysis were completed six communities, i.e. Tumahole, Thabong, Lulekani, GaMatlala, Seoding and Paballelo. Unavailability of key stakeholders contributed in the target not being met.

  34. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 7: Administration of the implementation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) of 2000 The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), 2000 was enacted to engender a culture of transparency and accountability in the conduct of government business. The Department is responsible for the administration, coordination of the PAIA and facilitation of the implementation of PAIA throughout the three spheres of Government and other public bodies. During the year under review, 338 requests for information were received and 297 of these requests were finalised within the prescribed period. Although a 100% performance is expected in line with the act, many PAIA requests require reconstruction of court records and this is time consuming. For this reason a target of 100% is unachievable at this stage.

  35. PROGRAMME 1 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 1 Strategic Objective 8: Coordination of the JCPS cluster towards achievement of Outcome 3 and the NDP goals Following the change of administration, the Department ceased to be the lead department in the implementation of Outcome 3. The function was transferred to the Department of Defence. The Department has, submitted its inputs to the Department of Defence for consolidation.

  36. DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2

  37. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 The purpose of this programme is to facilitate the resolution of criminallaw and civil law cases, and family law disputes by providing accessible, efficient and quality administrative support to the courts and managing court facilities Strategic Objectives: 9. Improved finalisation of activities in support of outputs of Outcome 3 10. Increased promotion and protection of the vulnerable groups 11. Increased protection of the best interest of children and promotion of family cohesion through mediation services 12. Increased access to justice services to historically marginalised communities 13. Improved delivery of services at the courts 14. Capacitation of the Office of the Chief Justice

  38. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 9: Improved finalisation of activities in support of outputs of Outcome 3 The case backlog reduction initiative was introduced as one of the various interventions to deal with criminal case backlogs. This initiative seeks to achieve a reduction in cases and to ensure that the inflow of new cases is balanced by matters concluded as well as greater court efficiency and effectiveness. During the year under review, the number of cases on backlog at lower courts was reduced to 29 480. This number represented 17% of the outstanding roll of 169 026 cases. Appointment of Magistrates on a permanent basis will enable the criminal justice system to bring down this number further.

  39. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 10: Increased promotion and protection of the vulnerable groups • The Department has set standards which are aimed at ensuring that the maintenance system is faster, easily accessible and effective. • One such standard which is piloted in 9 pilot sites, is to ensure that maintenance cases are finalised within 90 days after proper service of process. • During the year under review, the Department recorded 9 588 maintenance cases in these 9 pilot sites with proper service of process and 8 650 of these cases where finalised within 90 days after proper service of process. Extension standards to the rest of the courts is underway.

  40. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 10: Increased promotion and protection of the vulnerable groups The number of maintenance cases dealt with are summarised on the tables below:

  41. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 10: Increased promotion and protection of the vulnerable groups In support of improving Maintenance Services, the following were achieved: The ICMS Maintenance Courts system was implemented at a further 208 courts. This system allows for efficient management of maintenance cases. The Maintenance EFT pay-out system continued to be implemented at 392 courts, resulting in 98% of maintenance payments being made through the EFT payment channel.

  42. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 10: Increased promotion and protection of the vulnerable groups This register aim to reduce the high prevalence of sexual violence perpetrated against the children and persons who are mentally disabled by restricting registered offenders from working in environments that will expose them to these categories of persons. As at the end of the year under review, 17 500 convictions were recorded electronically on the NRSO. During the year under review, 14 court rooms were upgraded into sexual offences court rooms. These courts reinforce the establishment of court system that is prompt, responsive and effective.

  43. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 11: Increased protection of the best interest of children and promotion of family cohesion through mediation services The Department through the Office of the Chief Family Advocate provides professional services to the public and the courts with the children being the main beneficiaries of the services provided. For the year under review, 7 009 non-litigation cases on family law matters were registered, of these cases 5 458 were mediated. For the cases where reports needed to be filed at the court, the Department aimed to file these reports within 15 days of completion of the enquiry. 7 941 family advocates’ court reports were filed, of which 6 788 were filed within 15 days of completion of the enquiry. The additional service delivery points established during the previous financial year contributed to the target being exceeded

  44. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 12: Increased access to justice services to historically marginalised communities Small Claims Courts During the year under review 39 new small claims courts have been established. This ensured that more communities could access the services of the Small Claims Courts that deal with smaller civil matters of less that R15 000. This brings to 331 the number of Small Claims Courts established as at end of 2014/15 financial year. • 248 Commissioners and 369 Advisory Board members were appointed for these Courts • during 2014/15, bringing the total numbers to 1 863 Commissioners and 1 614 Advisory Board • members country-wide. • 21 magistrates and 199 legal aid practitioners have volunteered their services as Small • Claim Court Commissioner. • e) 165 commissioners and 164 clerks received training.

  45. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 12: Increased access to justice services to historically marginalised communities 2. Alignment of magisterial districts with municipal boundaries The harmonisation of magisterial districts with provincial and municipal boundaries seeks to enhance access to courts and ensure better co-ordination and integration of services within the three spheres of government. During the year under review 39 magisterial districts have been aligned to the provincial municipal boundaries in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces

  46. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 12: Increased access to justice services to historically marginalised communities 3. Conversion of branch courts During the year under review, the Department designated 3 branch courts to full service courts. This brings to 32, the total number of Branch Courts designated as at end of the 2014/15 financial year.

  47. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 13: Improved delivery of services at the courts During the year under review, 230 965 requests for default judgement were received and 208 914 were dealt with by the clerk of the court within 14 days of receipt. Subsequent to the civil matter, cost orders and taxations need to be finalised to allow claimants to receive their funds. During the year under review, 14 640 unopposed taxations were processed and 13 666 were processed within 14 working days from the date the matter is set down.

  48. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 13: Improved delivery of services at the courts • The Audio-visual Remand system links magistrates’ courts to correctional detention centres via CCTV. The utilisation of this technology results in the reduction of costs and risks associated with detainees being commuted from correctional facilities to the courts. During the year under review, 10 019 postponements were conducted via the AVR system. • The Department strives to ensure that the necessary administrative support required for the functioning of the courts is available at all times. To this effect only 2% of cases from the outstanding roll of 169 026 were postponed due to unavailability of court administrative support.

  49. PROGRAMME 2 PERFORMANCE DEPARTMENTAL PERFORMANCE: PROGRAMME 2 Strategic Objective 14: Capacitation of the Office of the Chief Justice • In preparation of the independency of the Office of the Chief Justice, the Department embarked on the process of capacitating this office. • During the year under review, 158 posts were filled against 270 funded posts. The inability to attract suitable candidates led to target not being achieved. • In addition, a key focus area for the year was the transfer and integration of people from DOJ&CD to OCJ.

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