Assessing the effectiveness of judicial case management in reducing delays: a comparative study between South Africa and England and Wales

Abstract

Judicial Case Management has been implemented in South Africa as part of the Uniform Rules of the High Court since July 2019. The application of judicial case management in the South African High Court was aimed at eradicating persistent case backlogs and decongest court rolls. Despite the implementation of judicial case management, the Gauteng Division of the High Court continues to experience significant case backlogs and delays in finalising civil litigation. This study adopts a comparative approach to examine the civil judicial system of England and Wales to determine reforms aimed at improving judicial case management regime in the South African High Court. The analysis in this study reveals structural and procedural shortcomings of judicial case management and perpetual delays in finalising cases in the Gauteng Division of the High Court. The study proposes reforms aimed at improving judicial case management to harmonise the application of judicial case management within the South African High Court.