GBV tops High Court criminal trials
The majority of criminal trials presided over in the High Court of Namibia last year involved violence against women and children.
At the opening of the 2023 legal year yesterday, Chief Justice Peter Shivute explained that the High Court has two divisions: The main division in Windhoek and the northern local division in Oshakati.
For both divisions, judges presided over a total of 140 criminal trials, he said.
A total of 63 of these cases involved gender-based violence (GBV), while 21 involved either fraud or theft and 10 involved human trafficking.
According to Shivute, 20 cases were completed by the main division, representing a finalisation rate of 28%. The northern local division, on the other hand, had a finalisation rate of 17%.
He said 57 cases remain on the court roll as a carry-over to this legal year.
Criminal reviews
“During the period under review, the High Court attended to 2 917 criminal reviews from the lower courts and finalised 2 135 of them.”
Shivute said this represents about 70% of the review cases.
According to him, the criminal stream judges also heard 151 criminal appeals, and finalised 142. That represents a 98% clearance rate in respect of the main division and 86% for the northern local division.
Furthermore, during 2022, the judges in the criminal stream delivered 40 judgments after completion of trials, 83 criminal appeal judgments and 190 criminal review judgments.
Shivute added that 66% of the judgments were delivered timeously within the approved guidelines at the main division and 65% at the northern local division.
Lower courts
Meanwhile, the performance of the lower courts did not improve appreciably last year, he said.
“For us to see a reduction in the pending cases, we need more magistrates, more court rooms, more support staff and sufficient funds to run periodical courts and to pay witness fees.”
The lower courts consist of nine regional courts, 37 district courts and 35 periodical courts across Namibia.
“The Magistracy dealt with 64 536 cases over the period under review. This shows an increase of 10.4% from the 2021 legal year. A total of 26 756 cases were finalised.”
Shivute said this means 9 065 more cases were finalised compared to the previous year.
Further, 37 983 cases were carried over to January 2023.
Supreme Courts
The number of cases registered with the Supreme Court has increased from year to year, Shivute said.
In 2022, a total of 114 appeals were registered with the Supreme Court. Of this number, 105 are civil appeals and nine are criminal appeals.
During the year under review, 51 matters were enrolled between March and November. Of these, two were postponed and 49 were heard by the court.
Of the 49 matters heard, 47 judgments were delivered - representing a 96% clearance rate. The remaining two are receiving attention, he said.
At the opening of the 2023 legal year yesterday, Chief Justice Peter Shivute explained that the High Court has two divisions: The main division in Windhoek and the northern local division in Oshakati.
For both divisions, judges presided over a total of 140 criminal trials, he said.
A total of 63 of these cases involved gender-based violence (GBV), while 21 involved either fraud or theft and 10 involved human trafficking.
According to Shivute, 20 cases were completed by the main division, representing a finalisation rate of 28%. The northern local division, on the other hand, had a finalisation rate of 17%.
He said 57 cases remain on the court roll as a carry-over to this legal year.
Criminal reviews
“During the period under review, the High Court attended to 2 917 criminal reviews from the lower courts and finalised 2 135 of them.”
Shivute said this represents about 70% of the review cases.
According to him, the criminal stream judges also heard 151 criminal appeals, and finalised 142. That represents a 98% clearance rate in respect of the main division and 86% for the northern local division.
Furthermore, during 2022, the judges in the criminal stream delivered 40 judgments after completion of trials, 83 criminal appeal judgments and 190 criminal review judgments.
Shivute added that 66% of the judgments were delivered timeously within the approved guidelines at the main division and 65% at the northern local division.
Lower courts
Meanwhile, the performance of the lower courts did not improve appreciably last year, he said.
“For us to see a reduction in the pending cases, we need more magistrates, more court rooms, more support staff and sufficient funds to run periodical courts and to pay witness fees.”
The lower courts consist of nine regional courts, 37 district courts and 35 periodical courts across Namibia.
“The Magistracy dealt with 64 536 cases over the period under review. This shows an increase of 10.4% from the 2021 legal year. A total of 26 756 cases were finalised.”
Shivute said this means 9 065 more cases were finalised compared to the previous year.
Further, 37 983 cases were carried over to January 2023.
Supreme Courts
The number of cases registered with the Supreme Court has increased from year to year, Shivute said.
In 2022, a total of 114 appeals were registered with the Supreme Court. Of this number, 105 are civil appeals and nine are criminal appeals.
During the year under review, 51 matters were enrolled between March and November. Of these, two were postponed and 49 were heard by the court.
Of the 49 matters heard, 47 judgments were delivered - representing a 96% clearance rate. The remaining two are receiving attention, he said.
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