REGIONAL COURT BREAKS LANGUAGE BARRIER
Staff Reporter

Cape Argus
March 3, 2009

The pilot project of the first indigenous-language court in the province has got off to a good start.

Regional Justice head Hishaam Mohamed said yesterday that he was hopeful that the court would achieve the objectives of fast-tracking proceedings and improving the quality of justice in the Western Cape.

Hearings conducted entirely in Xhosa would take place in court four at the Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court for the next six weeks, after which the project would be evaluated and extended to other courts.

After observing proceedings yesterday, Mohamed said early indications were that it would enable courts to dispose of more matters because it would eliminate the necessity for translation of proceedings into one or more languages.

The introduction of indigenous language courts forms part of the review of the criminal justice system. The project will allow people who do not speak English or Afrikaans the "opportunity to exercise their right to equal justice", the Department of Justice says.

"The indigenous language court conducts its proceedings in the dominant language of the local area, which, in this case, is isiXhosa, and it is envisaged to enhance service and accelerate access to justice.

"The project will further minimise the possibility of human error during translation of court proceedings (and) prevent delays resulting from the unavailability of interpreters.

If necessary, the record of the hearing will be transcribed into English.