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‘Courts must embrace 4IR’, says Judge President Musi

29 May 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin

Judge Musi — Judge President Cagney Musi from the Free State Division of the High Court.

If you live in a rural town the chances of getting equal access to the court system as your urban counterparts is very slim and therefore the trust in the judiciary has taken a nosedive. This is the “urban bias” of the judiciary, according to Judge President Cagney Musi of the Free State Division of the High Court.

Afrobarometer conducted a countrywide survey on, Trust in Judiciary and access to justice in South Africa. Judge Musi, Matthias Krönke from the Department of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town and Chris Oxtoby from Democratic Governance and Rights Unit at UCT, engaged in a panel discussion on the findings of the report.

The data of the survey was released at an event which was hosted by the Department of Political Transformation and Governance at the University of the Free State (UFS) on Tuesday 16 May 2019.

“The fact that we in South Africa and can say ‘I will take you to court’ is evidence of the trust there is in the judiciary,” said Judge President Musi. However, this trust in the courts ultimately lies in the operations of the court system. Cases that get postponed just becomes part of the backlog. The trust can be maintained through constant communication from the courts. Judge Musi asked whether social media could be used to maintain the trust in the judiciary by sharing court rulings on social media.

“It is also time the courts moved along with the changing times.” Judge Musi was referencing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how courts can move away from conventional paper-based systems to a process whereby a claimant can submit summonses online.

The data findings of the Afrobarometer survey focused on three broad themes namely; trust in the judiciary and access to justice and judicial autonomy. It aims to contextualise South Africa on the continent and see to what extent people trust the judiciary in South Africa and how that compares to other parts of Africa. South Africa’s performance is very average compared to other countries.

News Archive

UFS forms International Advisory Council

2010-11-09

The University of the Free State (UFS) has established an International Advisory Council (IAC) to advise the leadership of the university on its future positioning strategies, especially in relation to its international ambitions as a place of scholarship and service among the leading universities in the world.

The Council, constituted by Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, consists of nine high-profile international experts with proven expertise, leadership, influence and experience.

“Since the appointment of Prof. Jansen, the leadership of the university has been revising and aligning several functions as part of a thrust to position the institution to meet 21st century national, regional and international challenges,” says Prof. Aldo Stroebel, Director of International Affairs at the UFS.

The appointment of the IAC is one of the strategies to advise and guide the UFS during the next phase of development and growth.

The university is fortunate to have attracted council members from various spheres of influence who can provide strategic guidance and bring cutting-edge expertise to bear on the policies, strategies and actions plans of the UFS. Among them are Prof. Brenda Gourley, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Natal (now UKZN); Mr Gert Grobler, SA Ambassador to Japan; and Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ncquka, Former Deputy-President of South Africa, and Executive Chairperson of the Umlambo Foundation.

The first meeting of the Council will take place from 10-13 November 2010. During this meeting the Council will advise the university leadership on the positioning of the UFS in a global knowledge economy; research excellence; excellence in the scholarship of teaching and learning; student engagement and transformation; and other strategic programmes of focus, including engaged scholarship.

The other Council members are:

- Prof. Joel Samoff: Professor of African Studies, Stanford University, USA (Chairperson)
- Prof Luc D’Haese: Chairperson: University International Committee and Advisor to the Rector, University of Antwerp, Belgium
- Prof. Masafumi Nagao: United Nations University and International Christian University, Japan
- Dr Uri Ofir: International Entrepreneur and Business Development Specialist, Scientech Inc., Switzerland
- Prof. Alice Pell: Vice-Provost International Affairs, Cornell University, USA
- Prof. Akilagpa Sawyerr: Former Secretary-General, Association of African Universities (AAU), Ghana

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
8 November 2010

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