Judiciary turns to foreign judges due to local shortage

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has announced plans to recruit a limited number of foreign judges on fixed-term contracts to serve in the civil stream of the High Court of Namibia, citing a shortage of suitably qualified local candidates and growing pressure on the court system.

In a media statement issued on Friday, deputy director of public relations Vikitoria Hango said the Office of the Judiciary said the decision was taken to ensure the continued effective functioning of the High Court and safeguard the administration of justice.

The statement comes nearly a month after High Court judge Beatrix de Jager used a court order to detail her punishing workload and voice frustration over staff shortages.

“A day has twenty-four hours. I am a human,” De Jager wrote while postponing the delivery of judgment in a case involving a tender dispute.

Hango said the High Court operates through two main streams - criminal and civil. While the criminal stream has generally been adequately staffed due to a steady pool of magistrates handling criminal matters, the same pool has not consistently produced candidates suitable for appointment to the civil stream.

“The same pool has, however, not always proved suitable for appointment to civil stream. Magistrates seldom gain the depth of experience in civil procedure or the substantive branches of civil law required for complex civil adjudication in the High Court,” she said. 

Hango said over the past seven years, the JSC conducted several assessment processes, including written tests and oral evaluations, to identify suitable candidates for civil stream appointments. However, these efforts have yielded limited success.

She said in the most recent evaluation held in August 2025, five magistrates were nominated and shortlisted. Hango said all five failed to meet the minimum pass requirement in the written assessment, scoring between 17% and 37%, making them ineligible to proceed to the oral interview stage.

Hango said the judiciary also pointed to persistent vacancies and capacity constraints within the civil stream. The number of permanent civil judges has declined significantly over the past two years due to retirements, leaving several positions unfilled.

“Senior legal practitioners with extensive civil law experience have historically been reluctant to accept permanent judicial appointments, opting instead to serve occasionally as acting judges for short periods, usually not exceeding three months,” she said.

Hango added that the few remaining permanent civil judges are facing an increasing workload amid a growing volume and complexity of civil cases, which the JSC warned poses a risk to the timely and effective delivery of justice.

She said to address the immediate capacity challenges, the commission resolved to recruit suitably qualified retired or out-of-service judges from comparable Southern African jurisdictions that share Namibia’s common-law legal tradition.

Hango said the foreign judges will be appointed on fixed-term contractual bases as a temporary measure aimed at reducing case backlogs, stabilising court operations and strengthening the High Court’s ability to meet its constitutional obligations.

She said the JSC emphasised that the move does not undermine its long-term commitment to developing local judicial capacity.

She highlighted the recently revived High Court of Namibia’s Aspirant Judges Training Programme, which aims to equip magistrates and other justice sector professionals with the civil law knowledge and practical experience required for future appointment to the civil stream.

The commission said the programme is intended to strengthen the domestic judicial talent pipeline, although it will take time before it produces results capable of addressing the current operational pressures.

“The Commission trusts that the necessity and prudence of this measure, in the circumstances described above, will be appreciated and supported by the public,” Hango said.