Question NW2017 to the President of the Republic
17 July 2023 - NW2017
Horn, Mr W to ask the President of the Republic
Whether he intends to review and adjust the judicial post establishment of the Labour Court, given the substantial increase in the workload of the court?
Reply:
I am advised by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services that there are currently 13 Judges in the Labour Court.
To deal with the current backlog of cases, the court is using Acting Judges appointed on a pro bono basis.
The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services has agreed with the Judge President of the Labour Court on a process to address this situation as required in the regulations for the expansion of judicial establishments.
Upon receipt of a recommendation on the proposed increase of the judicial establishment from the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, which will take into account the required resources, I will indeed consider the best option on the judicial establishment of the Labour Court.
It should be noted that the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services has appointed a Committee on the Rationalisation of the High Courts led by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke. It is mandated to, among others, assess the judicial establishment of each division of the High Court with a view to ensuring equitable distribution of judicial posts across all the divisions.