Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Bridgette Mabandla on Tuesday told Parliament that her department would refocus its attention on addressing backlogs facing courts around the country.

Minister Mabandla said the justice department was also considering introducing a new concept of night courts as part of mechanisms to reduce the number of pending cases that were still to go before courts.

"In the last two years, we have taken a conscious decision to build the majority of new courts in previously disadvantaged rural and urban areas of the country, where there is an acute need for courts and related facilities for the dispensation of justice," she said.

"In the current financial year, we have planned to refurbish 100 of the 361 courts that need to be renovated," said the minister.

The justice department introduced Saturday and additional court sittings in 2001 in an attempt to address case backlogs.

These courts handled a total of 75 214 cases between February 2001 and March 2004.

Mabandla said the Additional Courts handled 14 935 cases for the period April 2003 to March 2004 and the Saturday Courts handled 8 714 cases within the same period.

A total of 72 courts participated as pilot sites for Saturday and Additional court projects in 2003.

The minister told Parliament that her department would use most of its budget allocation to improve safety and security of the country's citizens.

She said her department would also work towards ensuring increased access to justice and focus on transformation of institutions and systems.

"We intend to ensure that our courts, which constitute one of our core functions, continue to be well-placed to deal with its civil and criminal court load, including contact crimes, especially those directed at vulnerable members of our society," said Mabandla.

"We need a transformed judiciary that relates to the realities of the society it is rooted in. We are deeply concerned at the pace of the transformation of the judiciary," she said.

The minister added that the number of black and women judges in the judiciary was still less than desired. –BuaNews.