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The Chief Justice of South Africa, Justice Sandile Ngcobo, together with the Heads of Courts, hosted a conference on Access to Justice from the 8th to 10th July 2011 at the Hilton Hotel, Sandton attended by 350 delegates from over 11 countries. This conference was historic in that the three arms of government, the Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislature, came together to reflect on the state of our justice system consistent with their shared responsibility to give effect to the constitutional duty to provide access to justice.

The theme of the conference was “Towards delivering accessible and quality justice for all”. The conference gave the judiciary the opportunity to consult with other stakeholders, including the legal profession, the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development, Traditional Leaders, civic organisations and the Portfolio Committee on Justice, in identifying the systemic challenges facing the delivery of quality justice.

The objective in calling this conference was threefold. First, to identify the challenges facing our justice system; second, to stimulate future research dialogue and conferences in order to explore in detail the needs identified at this conference; and third, to generate new ideas and further initiatives to promote the accessibility, efficiency and effectiveness of our courts. The conference has met these objectives.

Two crucial aspects emerged from the conference. First, there is an acknowledgment that our justice system suffers from certain deficiencies which undermine the delivery of accessible quality justice for all; and second, there is commitment to address these deficiencies.

This conference identified the fundamental principles upon which our ideal justice system should rest. These are the importance of the constitutional guarantee of the right of access to courts; the need for courts to be independent and impartial; the importance of and sustaining public confidence in the judiciary; the role of the media in promoting access to justice and confidence in the judiciary; the need for the judiciary to be accountable; and the obligation of other branches of government through legislative and other means to promote the accessibility, effective and efficiency of our courts.

Some of the mechanisms identified as crucial in enhancing the efficiency of our c, courts include:
a) The implementation of case flow management to facilitate the just, speedy and inexpensive resolution of cases. The critical element of this system will be the transfer of responsibility for the management of litigation from the parties and court administration officials to the judiciary.
b) The implementation of a system of an electronic filing and to extend it to courts in general. Advances made in the field of technology have made communication, including the transmission of documents and the accessing of filed documents, easier.
c) The implementation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Conference has decided that the Chief Justice should establish a Committee on Access to Justice to pursue long term fundamental improvements in our justice system so that it is truly accessible for all regardless of station in life and to review the justice system on a regular basis. This Committee will include representatives from the judiciary, the legal profession, the executive, the legislature, civic society and public interest law groups. The mandate and membership of the existing Monitoring Committee established after the 2009 Judges Conference and its sub-committees will be broadened to give effect to this resolve. This Committee will have sub-committees that will focus on Case Flow Management, e-filing, alternative dispute resolution, civil justice system and criminal justice system.

The importance of the spirit and the substance of constitutional dialogue in giving effect to our Constitution must be emphasised. Ultimately, in order for our goal of delivering accessible quality justice for all to succeed, it will require that the three branches of government work together, and with all stakeholders, to approach the constitutional obligation that we share with mutual respect and ongoing communication.

The Conference considered a draft statement of conference and left it to the Chief Justice to finalise it.