ATC200717: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on Vote No. 27 – Office of The Chief Justice For 2020/21, as Contained in the Adjustments Appropriation Bill [B10-2020], Dated 17 July 2020

Justice and Correctional Services

REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ON VOTE NO. 27 – OFFICE OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE FOR 2020/21, AS CONTAINED IN THE ADJUSTMENTS APPROPRIATION BILL [B10-2020], DATED 17 JULY 2020

 

1. INTRODUCTION

 

1. On 24 June 2020, the Minister of Finance tabled a supplementary Adjustments Budget intended to report on the COVID-19 fiscal measures and the resulting proposed adjustments to the division of revenue and departmental allocations; and set out government’s commitment to stabilise/strengthen public finances and promote economic reform towards faster and more inclusive growth.

 

1. The Committee was briefed virtually on the proposed adjustments to Vote No. 27 – Office of the Chief Justice for 2020/21, as contained in the Adjustments Appropriation Bill [B10-2020, on 15 July 2020.

 

1. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC FOR THE DEPARTMENT

 

1. TheCOVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the delivery of justice services. Although the courts have remained open throughout the lockdown period, the categories of permitted services are restricted. At the start of the lockdown period, only services relating to the essential functioning of the courts were permitted and, as a result, most matters were postponed.From 4 May 2020, the Directions relating to the Courts adopted a phased return to full functionality as the restrictions ease. However, the restricted functioning of the courts has led to a significant increase in the number of backlog cases.

 

1. The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined the manner in which judicial functions are exercised in that judicial case management and stakeholder engagements have to be conducted virtually, including virtual court hearings in the Superior Courts. This has necessitated the provision and expansion of additional ICT infrastructure requirements, namely resources to support court operations online, (e.g. laptops, data, licences for virtual platforms and implementation of high speed internet access, amongst others).

 

1. In addition, the OCJ has reprioritised R39.9 million from its Goods and Servicesbudget to fund new emerging priorities for containing the spread of COVID-19 and to facilitate/support the new way of functioning: These funds were reprioritised from Travel and Subsistence, Operating Leases, Venues and Facilities and Business and Advisory Services.

 

1. Overview of revised budget allocation for 2020/21

 

1. The main appropriation allocated R2.45 billion to the Office of the Chief Justice Vote (Vote 27) for 2020/21. This includesa Direct Charge forJudges’ salaries. The Adjustments Appropriation Bill [B10-2020], however, proposes that the allocation be revised downwards by –R30 million, from R2.45 billion to R2.42 billion, as follows:

 

Table 1: Proposed adjustments 2020/21

*Note There are no funds reallocated to the Vote

R’000     Programmes	2020/21 Main Budget	Downward revisions		Reallocations	2020/21   Total Net Change proposed	2020/21   Total allocation proposed
		Suspension of funds (C-19 purposes)	Virements from (C-19 purposes)	Virements to (C-19 purposes)
Administration	235 927	-13 811	-	-	-13 811	222 116
Superior Court Services	984 362	-10 161	-	-	-10 161	938 471
Judicial Education & Support	75 282	-6 028	-	-	-6 028	69 254
Direct Charge	1 190 937	-	-	-	-	1 190 937
TOTAL	2 450 778	-30 000	-	-	-30 000	2 420 778
Economic classification
Current payments	2 212 442	-30 000	-	-	-30 000	2 182 442
Compensation of employees	1 871 509	-	-	-		1 871 509
Goods and Services	340 933	-30 000	-	-	30 000	310 933
Transfers and subsidies	128 135	-	-	-		128 135
Payments for capital assets	110 201	-	-	-	-	110 201
Building and other fixed assets	-	-	-	-	-	-
Machinery and equipment	110 201	-	-	-	-	110 210
Payments for financial assets	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	2 450 778	-30 000	-	-	-30 000	2 420 778

 

Table2: Explanation of budget adjustments

R’000	Downward revisions	Reallocations	2020/21 Total net change
Goods and services: Suspension of various goods and services items associated with training courses for the judiciary,finalisation of cases and the modernisation of courts projects	-30 000	-	-30 000 0
Total	– 30 000	-	-30 000

 

1. Suspension of funds

 

1. Theproposed suspension of –R30 million is from the OCJ’s Goods and Services budget and affects all programmes. This is an 8.8% cut for this item.

 

1. Reallocations/Virements

 

1. There are no virements proposed.

 

1. Reprioritisations

 

1. The OCJ reports that it has reprioritized a total of R39.9 million internally from Goods and Services to accommodate the unexpected costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, as follows:

 

Table 3: Reprioritisations for COVID-19 related priorities

	Estimated Cost
Bandwidth increase in all Superior Courts	12 000
Data & airtime increase in all Superior Courts	7 000
COVID-19 communication compliance material
ICT Hardware	6 000
Disinfectant & cleaning material	5 400
ICT Licences for virtual services	4 104
	2 910
Hand sanitizer	1 800
Thermo scans
	39 914

 

1. Impact of the proposed Budget reductions

 

1. The OCJ reports that the proposed suspension of -R30 million from the OCJ’s budget, over and above reprioritization, poses the following risks to service delivery:

• The OCJ may not be able to procure the necessary PPE to continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the safety of Judges, officials, critical stakeholders and members of the public at courts.
• Circuit Courts, which are meant to enhance access to justice, will be negatively impacted and result in the further increase in existing case backlogs.
• The existing OCJ programme to modernize the courts will be negatively impacted in addition to the current paradigm shift occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic which requires court operations to function largely utilising ICT.
• COVID-19 has already affected the normal training programme of Judicial Officers and further budget cuts will compound the problem.

 

1. PROGRAMMES

 

1. Administration

 

1. The revised Annual Performance Plan for 2020/21 makes no revisions to the annual targets for this programme.

 

1. In addition, however, the advent of COVID-19 has brought with it a need for institutions to put measures that will ensure that the spread of COVID-19 is combatted. The following COVID-19 related indicators and targets have been included in the revised Annual Performance Plan and will be reviewed annually to assess the need for further interventions where necessary:

 

Table 4: COVID-19 related indicators and targets

Output	Indicator	Annual Target (2020/21)	Quarter 1 *	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
COVID-19 OHS related inspections	Number of COVID-19 OHS inspections conducted at the OCJ	3	-	1 **	1	1
COVID-19 educational programmes	Number of COVID-19 educational programmes implemented within the OCJ	3	-	1	1	1
COVID-19 related trainings for safety officers	Number of COVID-19 related trainings conducted for Safety Officers	3	-	1	1	1
Compliance reports on COVID-19 measures	Number of compliance reports on COVID-19 measures produced	3	-	1	1	1
COVID-19 pandemic risk mitigation reports	Number of COVID-19 pandemic risk mitigation reports produced	3	-	1	1	1

*As this revised APP is tabled in Quarter 2, targets for Quarter 1 are not included despite work already being done. 

** The target of 1 refers to all inspections conducted at OCJ service centres.

1. TheAdministration programme is allocated a total budget of R236 million for 2020/21 under the main appropriation. The proposed suspension of -R13.8 million will reduce the allocation to this programme to R222.1 million.

 

1. The proposed suspension is made from the Goods and Services budget.

 

1. Superior Court Services

 

1. This programme provides judicial support and court administration services to the Superior Courts. The programme continues to have the following sub-programmes: 

• The Administration of Superior Courts subprogramme provides administrative and technical support to the Superior Courts, monitors the overall performance of the Superior Courts, and enhances judicial stakeholder relations.  
• The Constitutional Court subprogramme funds the activities and operations of the Constitutional Court.
• The Supreme Court of Appeal subprogramme funds the activities and operations of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
• The High Courts’ subprogramme funds the activities and operations of the various high court divisions.
• The Specialized Courts subprogramme funds the activities and operations of the labour, land, electoral and competition courts.

 

1. The indicators and targets reflected in Superior Court Services relate only to the support that is provided by the OCJ to the Superior Courts under the sub-programme: Administration of Superior Courts. Performance information for other sub-programmes is within the control of the Judiciary and the OCJ only provides administrative and technical support. The revised Annual Performance Plan for 2020/21 makes no revisions to the annual targets for this programme.

 

1. The Superior Courts Services programme is allocated R948 million for 2020/21 under the main appropriation. The proposed suspension of -R10.55 million, revises this allocation downwards to R938.44 million. The proposed suspension is from Goods and Services.

 

1. Judicial Education and Support

 

1. The programme, Judicial Education and Support, provides education programmes to Judicial Officers, including policy development and research services for the optimal administration of justice.

 

1. The programme has the following sub-programmes: 

• The South African Judicial Education Institute subprogramme funds the activities of the SAJEI to provide training for Judicial Officers.
• The Judicial Policy, Research and Support subprogramme funds the provision of advisory opinions on policy development and regulatory services to the Judiciary and the Department.
• The Judicial Service Commission subprogramme provides secretariat and administrative support services to the Judicial Service Commission to perform its constitutional and legislative mandates effectively.

 

1. The following revision to the Annual Performance Plan 2020/21 is made to include virtual training of judicial officers.

 

Table 5: COVID-19 related indicators and targets

Output	Indicator	Annual Target (2020/21)	Quarter 1 *	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
Judicial educational courses conducted through virtual platforms	Percentage of planned judicial educational courses conducted through virtual platforms	14% (14/100)	-11	15% (5/35)	15% (5/30)	10% (2/20)

 

1. Judicial Education and Support is allocated R75.3 million for 2020/21 under the main appropriation. The proposed suspension will reduce the allocation downwards by -R6.02 million to R69.25 million. The reduction is from Goods and Services.

 

1. The spending focus for this programme remains on conducting training for judicial officers.

 

 

 

1. OBSERVATIONS

 

1. The Committee notes the OCJ’s concern regarding the risk to service delivery posed by the proposed cuts to its Goods and Services budget. These cuts are in addition to reprioritizations that have already occurred to fund new emerging priorities as a result of COVID-19. The Committee agrees that, as the largest part of the OCJ’s budget is committed to Compensation of Employees budget, further pressure on its Goods and Services budget as a result of the proposed cut of 8.8% poses a very real risk to the OCJ’s ability to operate. A particular concern is how priority projects relating to court modernisation and digitisation will be affected. A further concern is that addressing the significant increase in case backlogs caused by the restricted court roll as a result of COVID-19 will require the allocation of further additional resources not planned for.

 

1. The Committee agrees that the crisis has highlighted just how inefficient court processes are and hopes that this will provide impetus to plans to modernise and digitise the courts. The Committee supports plans to accelerate ICT projects aimed at fast tracking court modernization and digitization and shares the OCJ’s concern that further pressure on its budget may impede the progress of these initiatives. The Committee has made it concerns well known regarding the increased number of backlog cases in our courts on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Understandably, there is mounting anxiety that case backlogs may eventually overwhelm the legal system. The Committee understands that a case backlog plan has been developed and that this will form part of case-flow management, which is a judicial function. This is an area on which the Committee would like to engage further with the Judiciary to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced.

 

1. The Committee notes that laptops have now been provided to all judicial officers in the Superior Courts so that they are able to attend to their judicial functions making use of virtual platforms.

 

1. The OCJ reported that the Caselines project is operating in Gauteng and will be rolled out countrywide as part of the broader modernization project in due course. The Committee intends to invite the OCJ to brief it on the project, as well as the lessons learnt in the pilot phase, as soon as the programme permits.

 

1. The Committee notes the agreement between the OCJ and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development that the OCJ will not reimburse the Justice Department for rental monies owed for the lease of its Head Office, so that the OCJ can reallocate the funds internally.

 

1. The Committee supports the need for gender sensitivity training for judicial officer in the context of gender-based violence and requests that the OCJ through SAJEI ensure that such training is prioritized. The Committee will engage further with the OCJ on this going forward as part of the Committee’s programme.

 

1. The Committee notes with deep concern that that the OCJ may not be able to procure the necessary PPE going forward, especially as many judges and officials fall within the risk category, namely over 60 years of age and with co-morbidities. The Committee will engage further with the OCJ on this going forward as part of the Committee’s programme.

 

1. RECOMMENDATION

 

1. The Committee recommends that the National Assembly approve the proposed adjustments provided for in Vote No. 27 – Office of the Chief Justice for 2020/21, as contained in the Adjustments Appropriation Bill [B10-2020].

 

Report to be considered.