THE JUDICIARY
The main function of the Judiciary is to adjudicate and to interpret Acts of Parliament and the common law. Additionally the Judiciary has the power to issue out orders or directives as may be necessary to ensure law, peace and order is maintained. The Judiciary is also responsible for upholding of the rule of law and the administration of estates.
Mission Statement
´To administer justice which is accessible to all members of the public, upholding the rule of law and safe-guarding the Constitution of the country and all other laws applicable, in particular, the protection of the fundamental rights of persons.'
Vision
´To uphold the rule of law and efficiently dispense justice to all those within its borders, in-keeping with the Constitution.
Independence of the Judiciary
The safety of the state is entirely dependent on an Independent Judiciary because it has the capacity and an obligation to promote and preserve the Rule of Law. The Rule of Law is a basic tenet of any democratic country, requiring an independent Judiciary that functions reasonably and efficiently.
The Judicial Sector has the primary mandate to administer justice. It also has to interpret and to uphold the Constitution. Courts are often called the custodians of the Constitution because their rulings protect the rights and civil liberties of the citizens as guaranteed by the constitution. The Judiciary has Judicial Review Power. In terms of the constitutional doctrine of Separation of Powers it has power to review the decisions and actions of the Legislature and the Executive, Motala & Ramaphosa, (2002). Judicial Independence connotes, not just the independence of the judicial arm from interference by the other arms of the state, but includes independence of each judicial officer from any interference by other members of the bench.
The Judiciary and its Customers
In the Service Sector, the provision and delivery of service involves a variety of interactions between an organisation and its customers. The concept can properly be advanced further by introducing the element of quality in service delivery. One definition of Quality Service Delivery as a concept is:-
“A measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer expectations. Delivering quality service means conforming to customer expectations on a consistent basis.”
The Judiciary of Swaziland must, also, be viewed as an organization - a system designed to serve the needs of those who use the courts and involving processes and tasks that are interlinked and affect one another.
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN THE COURTS
Court systems require effective leadership and management practices to respond to many important issues, such as public trust and confidence, court and community collaboration, and timeliness and consistency. Strategic planning and team building must also become part of the inherent culture of our courts to bring about pertinent, effective change in the justice
system.
The drawing of the Strategic Plan for the Judiciary of Swaziland 2007-2012 is but one commendable activity. But the Judiciary, as an organisation, needs to go a step further; that of ensuring that most of its members are aware of the vision and they are part of the strategic journey forward. Although it is good to have written strategy for an organisation, it is, however, vital that the members of the organisation or, in particular, its stakeholders become part of the strategy. Most public entities have a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in their operations. Common stakeholder groups include:
• Staff of the public entity;
• The public entity's customers and clients, and the broader community;
• The portfolio Department;
• Other State Government Departments and agencies who are co-operating
with the public entity or who rely on the public entity for goods or services;
• The public entity's business partners including companies, government
organisations and Non-government Organisations (NGOs).
The written strategy, which is referred to as the Formal Strategy, is a document which sets out everyone’s responsibilities to which managers and staff sign up as a roadmap to achieving the organisational goals. And Stakeholder expectations are one of the attributes that are likely to influence that form of a strategic alliance.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Time has come whereby the Judiciary is to embark on the process of assessing the suitability of its strategy; that is, to establish whether the strategy addresses the circumstances in which the organisation is operating, and acceptability assessment which concerns the achievement or otherwise of the expected performance outcomes, such as risk, return, and stakeholder reactions, following the implementation of a greater part of the strategy.
The most critical elements of modern judicial reform come with the realisation and acceptance that the court is a service agency. The service it provides is to resolve disputes in society [by providing a forum, and by taking responsibility for matters entrusted to it with an understanding of the users as customers and an appreciation of good customer service]. Courts should not just exercise mere adjudicative responsibility but there should be a paradigm shift to a system which focuses on total quality service, and not just function in blind isolation but must be part of the community. Visibility, through public (civic) education, is certainly a strategic consideration for achieving the latter.