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OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY JUDGE PRESIDENT

(HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA, GAUTENG DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG)

OFFICE 1210

Telephone number: 011 335 0116/011 335 0162 / 011 335 0163

Fax number: (011) 335 0219

e-mail address: Secretarydjp@judiciary.org.za / LTulleken@judiciary.org.za

N O T I C E

TO:

1.              Judges of the Gauteng Division, Johannesburg

2.              Chief Registrar, Gauteng Division, Johannesburg

3.              Legal Practice Council – Gauteng

4.              Law Society of South Africa

5.              Gauteng Family Law Forum

6.              Gauteng Attorneys Association

7.              Pretoria Attorneys Association

8.              Johannesburg Attorneys Association

9.              West Rand Attorneys Association

10.           South African Black Women in Law

11.           National Association of Democratic Lawyers

12.           Black Lawyers Association

13.           South African Women Lawyers Association

14.           South African Medical Malpractice Lawyers Association

15.           Personal Injury Plaintiff Lawyers Association

16.           South African Medico-Legal Association

17.           Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Pretoria and Johannesburg

18.           Office of the State Attorneys, Pretoria and Johannesburg

19.           Solicitor General

20.           Office of the Family Advocate, Pretoria and Johannesburg

21.           Legal Aid South Africa

22.           Johannesburg Society of Advocates

23.           Pretoria Society of Advocates

24.           Gauteng Society of Advocates

25.           Pan African Bar Association of South Africa

26.           General Council of the Bar of South Africa

27.           National Bar Council of South Africa

28.           South African Bar Association

29.           National Forum of Advocates

30.           North Gauteng Association of Advocates

31.           Church Square Association of Advocates

32.           Advocates for Transformation

33.           Legal Division of the Department of Health: Gauteng

34.           Legal Division of the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation

35.           Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

36.           Legal Services - Gauteng Provincial Department of Education

37.           Gauteng Society of Advocates

DATE                            :   25 January 2023

RE    :  POWER SUPPLY TO THE JOHANNESBURG HIGH COURT AND THE RESUMPTION OF PHYSICAL MODE OF HEARINGS AS THE DEFAULT POSITION

1.       I am pleased to able to report that the crisis about power supply interruptions owing to load-shedding and a defective back-up generator to cater for outages has now satisfactorily been addressed by the Office of the Chief Justice (“OCJ”) and Department of Public Works (“DPW”).

2.       Both Departments have reported to me on the concrete steps that have been taken to ensure a repetition of the embarrassment does not recur.

3.       The two generators have been serviced and a repair by way of a replacement pump has been effected to one.

4.       In future the generators shall be:

4.1.           regularly serviced.

4.2.           DPW shall monitor the machines remotely using computer based technology.

4.3.           An OCJ officer on site shall monitor the machines daily and report to the Court Manager.

5.       In addition, the OCJ is addressing the UPS devices in each court room which back up the recording devices and the defective units shall either be repaired or replaced soon. This is important to avoid a hiatus when the power switches from the mains to the generator,

6.       The Faulty Air Conditioning in some courts is receiving attention at this time and may be expected to be optimal within a few weeks.

7.       Accordingly, it is appropriate to reinstate the physical mode of hearings as the default position. Physical hearings as the default position will resume from Monday 30 January 2023 in all Courts, subject to the proviso that if at the time this notice is published, in particular cases other arrangements have already been made for a remote hearing, those arrangements may be retained for the period 30 January to 03 February 2023. The proviso shall not apply to the Unopposed Motion courts, the Special Interlocutory Court or the Settlements Court.

8.       I express my appreciation to the profession for the manner in which it has coped with this disturbance and moreover, I offer my thanks to the Johannesburg Bar and to members of the profession who have spontaneously made offers of assistance.

9.       Lastly, I express my appreciation to Director of Court Operations, Adv M Potgieter of the OCJ and her colleagues and to the officials of DPW who rapidly intervened to address the problem and secure a satisfactory outcome.

Yours faithfully

Dictated by the Deputy Judge President Electronically transmitted, therefore no signature

ROLAND SUTHERLAND DEPUTY JUDGE PRESIDENT

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