Sitting on judgments
CARMEL RICKARD: Pressure on judges to deliver decisions quickly
Justice delayed is justice denied — and now the country’s top judges want to have delinquents named and shamed
A nasty little secret has plagued the legal profession in Namibia for years. Few were willing to talk about it, but the evidence was there if you cared to look: several very senior judges were not doing their work properly. After hearing a case, these judges would reserve judgment and then years would pass — up to 10 or more in some matters — before they eventually delivered a decision. Reporting on the problem was complicated. No-one wanted to comment. The chief justice was one of the culprits, and the law society and the commission that interviews, disciplines and recommends candidates for appointment — both of which would normally have something to say about such dereliction of duty and its effect on the administration of justice — preferred to play it safe and keep quiet.Things have started to improve, but the legacy has been unfortunate for litigants as well as for the profession — not to mention public confidence. In SA, judges are, at least in theory, kept on a far tighter re...
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