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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 celebrates research excellence

2016-02-25

Researchers at the university were acknowledged for their new research ratings. From the left are: Prof Johann de Wet, Department of Communication Sciences; Prof Naomi Morgan, Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French; Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research; Prof André Pelser, Department of Sociology; Dr Trudi O’Neill, Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology; and Prof Riaz Seedat, Department Otorhinolaryngology.

During a recent gala occasion, the University of the Free State (UFS) acknowledged 15 of its researchers who received new ratings from the National Research Foundation (NRF).

According to Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research at the UFS, 37 applications have already been received for the next round of ratings by the NRF. In recent years, the university has experienced an increase in the rating of its researchers as the result of raised academic standards. These are in line with the Academic Project of the UFS. The UFS has 125 rated researchers in total.

The 15 recipients of new ratings from the NRF in 2015,are:

- Dr Tanya Beelders, Computer Science: Y2
- Dr Andrew Cohen, History: Y1
- Prof Pieter de Villiers, Theology: C2
- Prof Johann de Wet, Communication: C3
- Dr Angelinus Franke, Agriculture: C2
- Prof Jonathan Jansen, Education: B1
- Prof Riaan Luyt, Chemistry: B3
- Prof Naomi Morgan, Linguistics: C2
- Dr Trudi O’Neill, Microbiology: C1
- Prof André Pelser, Sociology: C3
- Dr Johann Rossouw, Philosophy: C2
- Prof Riaz Seedat, Health: C3
- Dr Jakub Urbaniak, Theology: Y2
- Dr Martin van Zyl, Mathematics: C3
- Prof Sue Walker, Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences: C1

The UFS also celebrated its five SARChI research chairs during this event. The main goal of the research chairs is to promote research excellence.

The five research chairs at the UFS are all established at Tier 1. Research chairs in the Tier 1 category are based on the researcher's research track record, as well as on the training record of his/her postgraduate and postdoctoral students. Tier 1 research chairs are awarded to established researchers who are leaders in their field, and whose work is recognised internationally.

The following research chairs have been awarded to the UFS since 2013:

- Solid State Luminescent and Advanced Materials, Prof Hendrik Swart in the Department of Physics (2013-2017)
- Disease Resistance and Quality in Field Crops, Prof Maryke Labuschagne (2016-2020)
- Higher Education and Human Development, Prof Melanie Walker (2013-2017)
- Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Pathogens, Prof Felicity Burt (2016-2020)
- Humanities without Borders: Trauma, History and Memory (2016-2020)

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