What did past End GBVF 100-Day court teams do to reduce their backlogs?
In 2023:
Collectively among all the divorce teams that participated in the 100-Day Challenges, the backlog was reduced by 38.6% A total of 3913 cases were finalised in 100-Days.
In 2024:
The teams dealing with sexual offences managed to reduce their backlogs by 47% and on divorces, by 46%. Impressively, in 2024, the backlog of domestic violences cases was reduced by 86%.
Why this is important.
When courts experience a backlog in cases, victims wait longer to see justice in their cases. For domestic violence cases, this often means that victims are waiting to receive a protection order. Justice should not be delayed because of a backlog. This is one of the most pressing issues faced by the courts in handling GBVF cases. Therefore addressing the backlog of cases is a key impact area for the teams working under NSP Pillar 3: Justice Safety & Protection.
With the volume of GBVF cases being added to the court roll for many courts, dealing with a backlog requires continuous commitment, thinking out of the box, and collaborating with every stakeholder involved to ensure that cases are fast-tracked as much as possible.
Whether its domestic violence, divorce, sexual offence or maintenance, people need to trust our justice system, and that means serving justice in a timeous and effective way. Let’s take a look at some lessons learnt that allowed teams to reduce their backlogs:
Adopting a digital approach
Teams embraced technology and data-driven approaches to drive meaningful change. The digital toolbox to host virtual court environments became the cornerstone of their approach, providing a safe space for parties to navigate their cases, while attending their cases via MS Teams, Zoom and even WhatsApp in some cases. Parties and witnesses attended trials virtually where it was permitted by the Magistrate.
Often trials are delayed when a party cannot make it to the courtroom. Sometimes parties could not afford the transport to get to court, so the option to attend a trial via a video call worked better for them and prevented a delay.
Extending court times and schedules.
Regional courts, once limited by a shortage of sitting days, extended their schedules to handle the increased number of cases. Magistrates have swiftly assigned trial dates, and collaborations with Legal Aid have helped in resolving pending cases that had previously stagnated.
Time slots were allocated to deal with unopposed cases swiftly, and when cases needed to be delayed, a new date was assigned quickly.
In Mahwelereng court in 2024, there were over 1000 domestic violence cases on the court roll. The team focused on reducing postponement dates, which can often drag cases out for months or even years. Under normal circumstances, cases postponed can be postponed for months. However, with a new approach the team shaved four critical weeks off the waiting period.
More collaboration with SAPS
The South African Police Service (SAPS) played a massive role in reducing backlogs for many teams, as courts are reliant on law enforcement.
For Ga-Kgapane Magistrate Court One of the key challenges the team faced was incomplete returns of service from SAPS, which could potentially delay case processing. To overcome this, the team raised the issue in Court and Case Flow Meetings, ensuring that it was addressed promptly. Improving their working relationship and communication with SAPS, target case close dates were set for domestic violence cases and communicated to ensure deadlines were met and cases were fast-tracked through the system.
Better relationships with private practitioners
Private practitioners, often reluctant to settle matters, posed a significant hurdle. Many attorneys closed files without notifying the court, exacerbating the backlog of cases. Undeterred, the teams persisted, following up and engaging practitioners to review and finalise cases. Many courts also enlisted the help of candidate attorneys, harnessing their energy to clear backlogs as part of their community service, while simultaneously undertaking the arduous task of cleaning up the Integrated Case Management System (ICMS).
In Giyane, the magistrate instructed all private attorneys to see their cases through to completion, rather than waiting for financial instructions from clients, which can often be the reason cases are dropped and then delayed even further.
Relying on mediators to streamline appropriate cases
For divorce cases, mediation can help parties come to amicable resolutions outside of the courtroom. The result of this is both parties entering into a court case with agreement already in place. For mediation, Legal Aid and Mediation House placed mediators at the courts, making them available immediately for parties. In Polokwane court one of the magistrates assigned a mediator from the Mediation House forum, who arrived within an hour and the divorce case was settled within an hour later.
Looking Ahead.
For all types of cases, there are many stakeholders that can influence the rate at which a case is finalised. To reduce a backlog in a court, case finalisation and avoiding case postponements is important. Every stakeholder needs to play a role, court clerks, SAPS, mediators, private attorneys and the magistrates. When case targets are set and communicated with all stakeholders, it motivates individuals to do their part. A common thread among teams was increasing the frequency of internal meetings to discuss priorities. This filtered outwards to create more cooperation among all stakeholders.