Bongani Hans|Published 21 hours ago
The country’s judicial officers unanimously reaffirmed their call for a single judicial system in which magistrates will be integrated into the Office of the Chief Justice and have their remuneration and benefits reviewed.
Currently, magistrates report to the Department of Justice, and they have been complaining about inferior treatment compared to judges.
Following a three-day 2026 Judiciary Conference in Durban between Monday and Thursday, senior judges held a media briefing to announce the resolutions, which included creating a single judiciary system.
The recent resolutions follow up on those taken at the 2023 conference.
Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo said the recent conference spent considerable time discussing how to ensure that magistrates become members of the judiciary in line with the Constitution.
“We, magistrates and judges, belong in one single judiciary,” he said.
Mlambo said the conference resolved that a Judiciary Technical Committee will engage directly with the Department of Justice and the Cabinet to ensure magistrates’ migration to the Chief Justice’s Office happens without delay.
“Currently we have a Magistrates Act, a Magistrate’s Court Act, and a Superior Courts Act. These are pieces of legislation that apply to the different court tiers, and the conference recognises that all these legislative arrangements must be reviewed and amended to ensure a single legislative regime applies to all judicial officers in SA.”
A few months ago, magistrates in Durban and other parts of the country carried placards picketing against their working conditions and remuneration, and the Judicial Officers’ Association of South Africa (JASA) also raised concerns that magistrates are deprived of benefits enjoyed by their senior colleagues, such as official vehicles, petrol cards, tax rebates, spousal benefits, travel, housing, entertainment, and medical aid.
Mlambo said the conference did not single out any particular group of judicial officers when discussing remuneration and benefit issues.
“The resolutions adopted about our salaries and conditions of appointment are a holistic approach, and we did not focus on any particular group.
“It is the continuing resolution from the 2023 resolution to say that our conditions of appointments and the benefits we receive should receive proper attention and recognition, taking into account the workloads that we carry in the different court tiers,” he said.
The judiciary reaffirmed the 2023 resolution that the salaries, allowances, and benefits of judicial officers should be dealt with through an independent statutory body specifically suited to the constitutional position of the Judiciary.
This would mean that the Judicial Service Commission and the Magistrate’s Commission, which are responsible for the employment and disciplining of judges and magistrates, respectively, would be combined.
“We cannot have different appointment and disciplinary systems in a single judiciary.
“The conference recognised that all these different processes need to be brought together to establish one overarching appointment and disciplinary regime because, after all, we are a single judiciary.”
Mlambo said a single appointment and disciplinary body would eliminate gaps and inefficiencies by quickly identifying areas that require attention in handling disciplinary issues speedily, efficiently, and without delay.
“We are aware of the current complaint that these processes are very slow in the judiciary. Yes, the thinking of the conference is that we need to have one overarching regime in terms of appointments and discipline.”
Judges Matter’s research and advocacy officer, Mbekezeli Benjamin, described the proposal as necessary but complicated because it would take away about 40% of the Department of Justice’s budget, which is spent on magistrates’ operations.
“They are trying to remodel the judiciary to serve modern times, which is not a bad idea. But the problem is that it is complicated and there are several bumps on the road toward achieving a single judiciary.”
Benjamin said the challenges are that the employment conditions of judges and magistrates differ.
“The employment conditions for magistrates are very similar to those of other public servants because magistrates are public servants and are members of the Government Employees Pension Fund and Government Employees Medical Scheme.
“Judges are not signed up to a pension fund because they receive salaries for life, and they are also part of a medical aid called Parmed, which is much smaller.
“Therefore, the question is how to equalise the benefit when you move one to the other, and that is a very, very complicated system that requires a really, really high-level process,” said Benjamin.
Benjamin said it is a good concept to have one judicial system regulated and governed in the same way, but he said the transition would require policy and legislative changes.
“Currently, the Office of the Chief Justice does not have the legislative framework, and therefore, it does not have a solid legislative basis.
“I understand that a bill is currently being developed to try to regulate how this new system would function, how the accountability will work, who has to go to Parliament when they need to present the budget, and when they need to account for those resources.
“All of those are debates and discussions that must take place within the judiciary, but they also involve the executive because the executive will be giving up some of their power and influence.
“It would require the move of about 40% of the Department of Justice’s budget, meaning the Minister of Justice will have a smaller role than they currently have,” said Benjamin.
He said Parliament must write the laws on how the migration would happen.