A REVIEW OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECESS SYSTEM IN THE HIGH COURT
 
BY ADV F W KAHN SC AND ADV T L HEUNIS - Oct 2003
 
Please note: All documents are in Acrobat Reader format
 

INDEX

FOREWORD

 
  INTRODUCTION  
     
CHAPTER 1: THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF S OUTH AFRICA
1.1
 The Supreme Court at the Cape, its offshoots, the Eastern Districts Local Division and Griqualand West Local Division
1.2
 Natal Provincial Division  
1.3
 Management of the Cape Supreme Court and its Circuits  
1.4
 Natal Circuit Courts  
1.5
 The Supreme Court to date  
1.6
 Lower Courts  
     
CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TERMS AND RECESSES
     
CHAPTER 3: OVERVIEW OF THE RECESS SYSTEM
3.1
 The Detrimental effects of the Recess System  
3.2
 The High Court of South Africa: Terms, Recesses and optimal use of resources  

3.2.1 Rules of Court
3.2.2 Further days 'lost' and delays

  
     
CHAPTER 4: FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS: RECESSES OF THE SUPERIOR COURTS
4.1
 Length of recesses  
     
CHAPTER 5: ASSESSMENT OF THE SYSTEM OF FIXED RECESSES
5.1
 Hybrid Bench  
5.1.1 Circuit and High Court judges in one court
5.1.2 'Ticketing'		  
   
5.2
 'Staggering' the judicial vacations  
  5.2.1 New South Wales, AUSTRALIA
5.2.2 The United Kingdom
5.2.3 Queensland, AUSTRALIA
5.2.4 New Jersey, USA
5.2.5 Federal Republic of Germany		  
5.3
 A separate criminal bench
  
     
CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS AND OBSERVATIONS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
6.1
 Observations  
6.2
 Recommendations  
     
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION
  Directions regarding Submissions  
     
APPENDICES:    
 

APPENDIX A - The Eastern Districts Court and Griqualand West

  
  APPENDIX B - The Transvaal Provincial Division and The Orange Free State  
  APPENDIX C - Audit of Trials in the High Court July to December 2002  
  APPENDIX D - Minimum Sentences in the High Court January to June 2002  
  APPENDIX E - The United Kingdom  
  APPENDIX F - Ireland  
  APPENDIX G - Australia  
  APPENDIX H - New Zealand  
  APPENDIX I - Hong Kong  
  APPENDIX J - Singapore  
  APPENDIX K - India  
  APPENDIX L - Israel  
  APPENDIX M - The Netherlands and Denmark  
  APPENDIX N - Uruguay  
  APPENDIX O - Schedule for Court Year and Judges' Vacation, New Jersey, USA