Government proclaims the remaining elements of the administration of justice indictable proceedings act. Which means there will be no more preliminary enquiries.

According to the judiciary, indictable cases will go straight to the high court.

The judiciary says, all indictable matters are to be filed on the judiciary’s new e-forms platform Swif, as it offers a safe and secure platform for completing and submitting court forms.

The statement notes that there will be a new case flow, introducing initial hearings and sufficiency hearings, which will be conducted by a master of the high court on or the next working day the case is filed.  

The judiciary explains that the master will issue a scheduling order with deadlines, for the key actions to be taken before a sufficiency hearing, to ensure the case is ready for the next stage of court proceedings.

Further the judiciary says, indictments will be filed before the start of the sufficiency hearing.

The framework, the judiciary says, provides for digital use and evidence must be uploaded to the management platform, case center, and presented digitally in court.

This, the judiciary says, reduces opportunity for delay in the court process in instances when physical evidence is not readily available and makes its presentation more secure and clearer.