Interview preview: current and former magistrates on the path to high judicial office Prior to 1994, judges were only appointed from the ranks of senior counsel (advocates) at the Bar. These judges were almost exclusively white men. Today things are different. In accordance with our constitution, the judiciary is required to ‘broadly reflect the racial […]
The DGRU recently assessed the functioning of Urban Traditional Courts in South Africa with the intention of gaining a better understanding of the state of corruption in the lower courts.
In this article we try and explain what bail is and isn’t. Bail is not a punishment for the crime you have committed, it is simply a means to ensure that you come to trial.
The Magistrates Commission (‘MC’) is a statutory body established in terms of section 2 of the Magistrates Act, No. 90 of 1993 (‘the Act’). The purpose of the MC is to, inter alia, conduct interviews of magistrates for permanent appointment and thereafter advise the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development or to make recommendations to […]
The Democratic Governance and Rights Unit (DGRU) and Judges Matter, at the University of Cape Town were thrilled to officially launch their new project Magistrates Matter and their latest research project on the Magistracy in South Africa via a Zoom meeting on Thursday 29 October 2020. We were honoured to be joined by distinguished guests; […]
The most recent Afrobarometer survey (2018) indicates that 32% of citizens say that most or all magistrates and judges are corrupt. A further 47% of South Africans say that some magistrates and judges are corrupt. Moreover, 47% of citizens surveyed have no or little trust in magistrates. Today, concerns around corruption in the judiciary are […]
In our survey of South Africa’s Magistrates’ perceptions of their working environment which was conducted through an online survey between the 20 September to 18 October 2019 we were presented with the following data… Survey’s key findings The Magistrates we surveyed were demographically broadly reflective of the total number of magistrates in South Africa and […]
Our research looks at magistrates’ own perceptions of their workplace (the courts); the perceptions of ordinary people who use the courts; and analyses the kinds of misconduct issues that are dealt with by the Magistrates Commission and the system of dealing with misconduct. This report deals with the first of these – magistrates’ perceptions of their own work environment.
