COURTS NOT THE PLACE FOR GNU DISPUTES

GAUTENG High Court Judge President Dustan Mlambo was on to something with the directive that compels mandatory mediation in civil matters before opting to have a judge presiding over the case.

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Of course, the directive has not gone unchallenged by some in the legal fraternity who believe that, among other things, such an instruction makes accessing the courts difficult.

Judge Mlambo’s move is informed by the fact that most of the civil matters that are allocated to a judge get settled on the day they are to be heard, meaning that judges spend hours preparing for a case only for it to be settled.

This takes away the time they could have spent reducing the alarming backlog. As of February 2025, the Division's Civil Trial roll has trial dates issued as far ahead as 2031.