1. STATISTICAL EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF APPEALS
Follow-up report
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2. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
INTRODUCTION
This briefing is an up-date of the special survey of the lower and the high courts that deals with the impact of appeals on the workload of the courts
The return from the lower courts is for five quarters (i.e. June 2001 to August 2002). The response in respect of the sixth quarter was too poor to include the information in this briefing
The return from the high courts is for six quarters (i.e. June 2001 to November 2002)
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3. FINDINGS FROM THE SURVEY OF THE LOWER COURTS
The overall response rate from the lower courts was 76%, indicating that the information obtained somewhat under-represents the true picture
Nearly appeals were entered by lower courts in the five quarters, with the figure fluctuating around per quarter. The number does not appear to be increasing. This trend can be seen in the graph below:
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4. NUMBER OF APPEALS ENTERED (LOWER COURTS)
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5. LOWER COURTS CONTINUED
The survey showed that 84% of appeals emanate from the regional courts
The lower courts spent R24 million on transcriptions during the five quarters, although we do not believe this figure to be reliable
In terms of differences between provinces, the lower courts in Gauteng entered 30% of all appeals
The following two graphs show the district / regional court differences in appeals entered, and the provincial differences in appeals entered
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6. DISTRICT / REGIONAL COURT COMPARISON: NUMBER OF APPEALS ENTERED
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7. PROVINCIAL COMPARISON: NUMBER OF APPEALS ENTERED
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8. FINDINGS FROM THE SURVEY OF THE HIGH COURTS
Following extensive follow-ups, the response rate from the high courts was 100%
The high courts dealt with appeals during the six quarters
Considered against the background of the lower court information, it is clear that a backlog in the high courts is developing, since the lower courts are entering 35% more appeals than the high courts are able to deal with
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9. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
HIGH COURTS CONTINUED
The number of appeals being dealt with each quarter by the high courts has stabilized around the mark, suggesting that a saturation point in terms of capacity has been reached. This can be seen in the graph below
The information on the number of appeals pending showed that the number increased quite considerably between the third and fourth quarters, which is the period following the December recess, and then stabilized around 900 per quarter thereafter. This is also shown graphically below
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10. NUMBER OF APPEALS DEALT WITH
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11. NUMBER OF APPEALS PENDING AS AT THE END OF EACH QUARTER
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12. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
HIGH COURTS CONTINUED
It was found that while the number of appeals withdrawn has increased steadily, the number dismissed by the high courts has escalated drastically
In fact, 188 appeals were dismissed in the first quarter, increasing to 689 dismissals in the sixth quarter
Our conclusion is that in view of the fact that the number of appeals dealt with has stabilized, the proportion of “worthless” appeals amongst them, leading to dismissals, is increasing
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13. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
HIGH COURTS CONTINUED
Furthermore, the number of appeals upheld or partly upheld increased by 101% over the six quarters, but also fluctuated from quarter to quarter
However, as indicated above, the number of appeals dismissed increased by an enormous 266% over the six quarters. Both these trends are shown in the graph below
A relatively low number of appeals are remitted each quarter to the lower courts, with a total of only 208 being remitted in the six quarter period
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14. NUMBER OF APPEALS UPHELD AND PARTLY UPHELD, AND NUMBER DISMISSED
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15. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
HIGH COURTS CONTINUED
The information on the number of hours spent by judges on appeals, as supplied by the registrars, was found to be unreliable and is inconclusive
Looking at the workload of individual high courts, Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg high courts deal with 64% of all appeals. The workload comparison of the various high courts can be seen in the graph below
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16. HIGH COURT COMPARISON: NUMBER OF APPEALS DEALT WITH
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17. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
HIGH COURTS CONTINUED
The information supplied by individual high courts on the number of appeals pending is considered to be unreliable, since some registrars indicate that they do not record this particular statistic, or do not have access to it
It was concluded therefore that the number of appeals pending is in all likelihood greater than the number indicated in the survey
Bloemfontein high court appears to have the most severe problem of all high courts in terms of an increasing number of pending appeals. The table below is shown to illustrate this point
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18. BLOEMFONTEIN HIGH COURT Number of appeals pending
From district courts
From regional courts
Total
First quarter 24 50 74
Second quarter 45 75
120
Third quarter 70
114
184
Fourth quarter 83
156
239
Fifth quarter
100
254
354
Sixth quarter
113
292
405
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19. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
IN SUM:
The graph below attempts to show, in one chart, the trends relating to the five main appeal-related activities at the high courts
It shows numbers dealt with, pending, withdrawn, dismissed and upheld or partly upheld
The trends that have stabilized, such as numbers dealt with, and those that are increasing, such as numbers dismissed, are clearly visible
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20. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
COMPARISON OF A NUMBER OF TRENDS RELATING TO THE HIGH COURT INFORMATION
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21. BUSINESS UNIT: COURT SERVICES
CONCLUSION
Based on the findings of the survey, we believe that there is sufficient evidence to indicate that the current situation that allows for an automatic right of appeal is having a substantial impact on the workload of the high courts
The courts appear to have reached their maximum capacity for dealing with these matters, and the mere fact that lower courts are entering appeals at a higher rate than high courts are able to deal with them means that a backlog is inevitable
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