A cooperative agreement on the revitalisation of small claims courts in South Africa was signed by Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and Swiss Ambassador Rudolf Barfuss on Tuesday.
“In these courts, claims are resolved speedily, inexpensively and informally and litigants conduct their own cases without legal representation,” justice department spokesperson Tlali Tlali said in a statement.
“The agreement leads to an injection of R10-million by the Swiss government, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation for a further period of four years,” said Tlali.
“The project has to date received R4.2-million in donor funding, which translated into the establishment of 26 small claims courts and the revival of 17 inactive courts.
“In addition, 16 advisory boards were revived during phase one of the project, which ran from March 2007 to February 2011,” he said.
For the 2011/2012 financial year, the department planned to establish 30 additional small claims courts, which would increase the number of those currently available and operational nationally from 224 to 254.
In 2010, Radebe adjusted the courts monetary jurisdiction from R7 000 to R12 000 because of their high utilisation.
Phase two of the project, which runs from March 2011 until February 2015, would ensure that the courts were established on an incremental basis, Tlali said.
“The revitalisation of small claims court is part of the department’s effort to ensure equitable and accessible justice services to all South Africans,” he said. — Sapa