In a bid to improve access to justice the justice department is expected to facilitate the appointment of over 250 additional magistrates to be assigned to courts across the country.
Some 1000 candidates are to be interviewed in what is by far the largest intake of judicial officers in the country. The first round of interviews scheduled to start on the 17th of this month will be for candidate eying positions in the North West, Northern Cape and the Western Cape.
There’s been increased interest in the selection of judicial officers and researcher at interest group Judges Matter Zikhona Ndlebe says magistrates are crucial in the administration of justice.
“Magistrates Courts are the coalface of justice in our country. Most South Africans will only ever experience the courts through the magistrate’s court. Whether they are victims of crime seeking justice, mothers seeking maintenance for their children, small business owners needing to get back monies owed, they all need to be served by competent and caring judicial officers. It’s vitally important that only the best people get appointed as magistrates”, said Ndlebe in a statement.
While the administration of justice is generally slow in South Africa, the government says this is a result of many reasons but certainly not a shortage of magistrates. “Yes, there could be a vacancy rate but certainly not a shortage of magistrates,” said justice department spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri.
Candidates are drawn from experienced attorneys, advocates and prosecutors, and will be tested on their knowledge of criminal law, family law, civil law court procedures, ethics and integrity.
Due to the sheer volume of applicants, the 9-member Appointments Committee of the Magistrates Commission will be sitting for over 5 sessions of 3 weeks each to make crucial appointments at various district courts.