Reserved judgment still to be delivered 10 years later
Ten years after Judge Anton Van Zyl reserved judgment in a matter at the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg), it has still not been delivered.
The matter, postponed on 12 December 2012, concerns an application brought by financial company Allan Gray about its interest in a gambling licensee, GroundUp reports.
In its last annual report, for 2020-21, the KZN Gambling & Betting Board said: ‘The board is opposing the matter, the parties are awaiting an interlocutory ruling. However, the matter is now moot and we are seeking a settlement on the matter. The anticipated costs for counsel is R50 000.’
According to the last available Reserved Judgment Report for the Chief Justice, this matter is the longest outstanding judgment in the country.
The SCA has previously sharply rebuked Van Zyl over a delayed judgment. He took four years to rule in favour of a company for damages after a strike.
Van Zyl, Judge Siraj Desai and Judge Jacqueline Henriques had been reported to the JSC because of high numbers of outstanding reserved judgments.
The Office of the Chief Justice said the judgment was still outstanding.
Van Zyl retired in August 2021.
‘The Office of the Acting Judge President has continued, unsuccessfully, to engage the retired judge with the view to finalising this matter, as well as seven others that are outstanding by the judge. The Office of the Acting Judge President has referred the matter of all late judgments by the judge to the Judicial Conduct Committee for their intervention,’ the OCJ said.
However, Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC, spokesperson for the JSC, said no complaint had been lodged, the GroundUp report continues.
‘Any information to you from the OCJ that any complaint has been referred to the JCC is mistaken.’
‘The JSC has and continues in efforts to get information from retired Judge Van Zyl about outstanding judgments, including when they will be delivered. To date, the JSC has not been successful in obtaining information from retired Judge Van Zyl,’ Baloyi said.
Mbekezeli Benjamin, researcher at Judges Matter, said on retirement, resignation or even suspension, ‘a judge has a duty to finalise all cases they have already heard, including handing down all outstanding judgments’.
‘It constitutes judicial misconduct to not deliver outstanding judgments upon retirement,’ he said.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
