STATISTICAL EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF APPEALS

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STATISTICAL EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF APPEALS

• Follow-up report

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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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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 10 000 appeals were entered by lower
  courts in the five quarters, with the figure
  fluctuating around 2 000 per quarter. The number
  does not appear to be increasing. This trend can
  be seen in the graph below

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NUMBER OF APPEALS ENTERED(LOWER COURTS)
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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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DISTRICT / REGIONAL COURT COMPARISON NUMBER OF
APPEALS ENTERED
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PROVINCIAL COMPARISON NUMBER OF APPEALS ENTERED
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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 6 609 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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HIGH COURTS CONTINUED

• The number of appeals being dealt with each
  quarter by the high courts has stabilized around
  the 1 300 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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NUMBER OF APPEALS DEALT WITH
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NUMBER OF APPEALS PENDING AS AT THE END OF EACH
QUARTER
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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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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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NUMBER OF APPEALS UPHELD AND PARTLY UPHELD, AND
NUMBER DISMISSED
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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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HIGH COURT COMPARISON NUMBER OF APPEALS DEALT
WITH
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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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(No Transcript)
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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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COMPARISON OF A NUMBER OF TRENDS RELATING TO THE
HIGH COURT INFORMATION
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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