New immigration court near OR Tambo to fast-track cases

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The government plans to establish a court near the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to deal with immigration-related cases as the government moves ahead with a long-delayed overhaul of the country’s court system.The Kempton Park court falls outside the formal recommendations of the rationalisation committee chaired by retired deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke but was agreed on after consultations with Gauteng judge president Dunstan Ledwaba. Justice & constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi cited immigration pressures as the reason for the move on Tuesday, after President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday pledged to establish dedicated immigration courts to speed up the deportation of undocumented migrants.The country has seen a series of anti-immigrant protests in recent months, with the group March and March calling on undocumented migrants to leave the country by June 30.“Though this initiative is not part of the recommendations of the rationalisation committee we believe that the circumstances, especially regarding immigration, demand that we act swiftly to create the necessary infrastructure and justice systems to attend to this important matter,” Kubayi said. The broader court rationalisation, a constitutional requirement under schedule 6 of the constitution, will proceed in two phases with effect from July 1.Phase 1 covers the reassignment of magisterial districts to high court divisions and the activation of new local seats where court infrastructure already exists. Revised guidelines for the appointment of acting judges, signed off by the chief justice, will also be gazetted and take effect in July.Phase 2 covers the construction or expansion of court facilities at five new local seats recommended by the Moseneke committee: Palm Ridge, Gauteng; Welkom, Free State; Rustenburg, North West; Upington, Northern Cape; and Thembalethu, Western Cape. The proposed relocation of the Eastern Cape High Court seat from Makhanda to Bhisho will be subject to further stakeholder consultations led by the minister before a decision is taken.“A process has been initiated with the National Treasury and Office of the Chief Justice to effect the 20% increase of the judicial posts to deal with the capacity challenges across the divisions of the high court, as recommended by the rationalisation committee in the phase 2 report,” she said. The rationalisation of magisterial districts began in Gauteng and the North West in 2014 and was completed across all nine provinces by 2022. The high court rationalisation follows from that process, as high court divisions derive their jurisdiction from magisterial district boundaries.