—orders judicial officers to issue judgments within 60 days 

Mohloai Mpesi 

CHIEF Justice Sakoane Sakoane has read the riot act to judicial officers delaying in issuing judgments. 

Their behaviour, the Chief Justice said, was putting the judiciary into ill repute.  From now onwards therefore, magistrates and presiding officers at the Labour Court would have to issue judgements within 60 days. 

The Chief Justice issued the directive in High Court circular Number 03 of 2024 dated 15th of May 2024. 

The circular was signed by the Registrar of the High Court, Mathato Sekoai, on behalf of the Chief Justice.  

It was copied to the President of the Court of Appeal and Minister of Justice and Law. 

Justice Sakoane gave as an example a deputy president of the Labour Court who had taken 10 years to deliver an ex tempore judgment.  The unnamed judge only delivered the judgment in case (LC/REV/30/2024) after a complaint was raised with the Chief Justice. Such behaviour was wholly unacceptable, Justice Sakoane said. 

Presiding officers in the lower courts would from the date of Justice Sakoane’s circular now have to issue judgments within two months. 

If they cannot do so, they must inform litigants in open court. They must also inform the head of their court in writing as to why they cannot comply with the directive. 

If it’s the head of the court themselves who fail to deliver judgments, they must report their non-compliance to the Chief Justice through the Registrar of the High Court. 

Chief Justice Sakoane’s new directive will come as a relief to litigants who have had to endure with the incompetence of judicial officers who do not take their work seriously.  Such judicial officers, the Chief Justice noted, were denying litigants their constitutional right for speedy and efficient delivery of justice. 

While the Chief Justice’s new directive applies to lower courts, it did not mention High Court judges who are equally notorious for delaying in issuing written judgments. 

The High Court judges were last year subjected to serious criticism by Court of Appeal justices over their failure to issue written judgments, thereby stifling the work of the apex court.  

The Court of Appeal judges have had to sit to consider appeals without the reasons of the appealed judgments being furnished from the High Court. 

This irked apex court judge, Moses Chinhengo,  who lashed out at the misbehaviour of some of the High Court judges in a judgment last year. 

Justice Chinhengo said, in July 2023, that the Court of Appeal continued to be baffled by the “neglect” and  “failure” of some of Lesotho’s High Court judges to give reasons for their decisions. 

This was despite the fact that judges were highly esteemed people who were paid to interpret and apply the law and give reasons for their decisions. Judge Chinhengo said this unfortunate behaviour of some of Lesotho’s judges had gone for far too long.  It was about time such “errant” judges faced disciplinary action. 

Mr Chinhengo’s colleagues, Kananelo Mosito, the President of the Court of Appel and judge Van Der Westhuizen, concurred with his remarks. 

The apex court judges said it was about time that Chief Justice Sakoane and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) took all necessary steps “to curb the habit once and for all, including taking disciplinary measures against errant judges as may be necessary…” 

“In every situation where an appeal is heard without reasons for the judgment, this Court (appeal court) faces avoidable difficulties when determining whether the judge a quo had a good basis for the decision he made,” read the main judgment, penned by Justice Chinhengo. 

“The failure by judges to justify their decisions was impeding the smooth administration of justice in Lesotho. 

“The neglect or failure by some High Court judges to give reasons for their decisions has been going on for too long now. In my view, it is now pointless to harp on it,” Judge Chinhengo ruled. He instructed the Registrar of the High Court , Ms Sekoai,  to ensure that Chief Justice Sakoane directly got a copy of the judgment to enable him to address the issue. 

It is not clear why the Chief Justice did not include High Court judges in his latest directive. The Sunday Express could not seek a comment from the Chief Justice or the Registrar by the time of going to print late last night. We got hold of he circular too late to try and contact them. 

The Sunday Express will do so in due course and inform the nation accordingly about the Chief Justice’s plan, if any, to deal with errant High Court justices. 

In the circular for the lower courts,  Justice Sakoane did not only complain about the delay in issuing judgments , he also worried that judgments  of the lower courts did not bear written dates of hearing. 

This was a deliberate act by judicial officers to disguise delays in issuing judgments, he said. 

“There is a practice of reserving judgments for months and years before they are delivered. This practice, which denies litigants their section 12 rights under the Constitution brings the administration of justice into disrepute,” Chief Justice Sakoane said in the circular. 

“There are countless cases evidencing this deplorable behaviour. To mention a recent one (LC/REV/30/2024) a Deputy President of the Labour Court took ten years to deliver an ex-tempore judgment following a written complaint lodged with the Honourable Chief Justice,” the circular reads. 

“Judgments do not reflect dates of hearing and delivery as is the practice in the Superior Courts. This deliberate omission to record the dates is done with the aim of concealing the period it took to deliver judgments.” 

The Chief Justice thus ordered that verdicts should, from the date of his circular, not take more than two months without being delivered to the litigants, failing which litigants should be informed in the open court. 

“Going forward, presiding officers should record on the face of judgements the dates of hearing and delivery. This is absolutely necessary for public accountability and measurement of judicial industriousness. 

“Judgments should not be reserved for more than 60 days. In the event that a judicial officer is unable to deliver within the stated period, he or she must inform litigants in open court and the head of the court in writing the reasons for non-compliance. The reasons should be filed in the judicial officer’s personal file,” the circular reads. 

“Where it is the head of the court who is guilty of such dereliction of duty, he or she must provide written reasons to the Registrar marked for the attention of the Honourable Chief Justice for necessary action. 

“Judicial officers must keep yearly records of their judgments. This will help them in good stead when they apply for promotion and elevation to the high bench. 

“This circular does not displace the right of the litigants and lawyers to lodge complaints against judicial officers who delay delivering judgments,” the Chief Justice said.