Magistrates throw down the gauntlet

MOST of Namibia’s Magistrates yesterday appeared to be on a collision course with their employer, the Magistrates’ Commission, over a decision to exclude them from applying for 18 new senior posts for Magistrates.

Some 30 Magistrates have joined forces to challenge the Magistrates’ Commission’s decision to exclude serving Magistrates and public prosecutors from applying for 18 new posts for which the Commission invited applications a week and a half ago. By yesterday, a lawyer acting on behalf of the Magistrates had written to the Commission to inform it that they regard the decision as unfair and discriminatory.The lawyer also asked that the Commission give an undertaking within seven days that serving Magistrates would be allowed to apply for the new advertised posts.STRIKE NOT RULED OUT Magistrates, up in arms over the conditions set in the advertisement for the new posts, last week went as far as threatening to strike if the Commission failed to clear up their misgivings.The Commission in turn addressed a circular letter to the Magistrates – its first circular to Magistrates this year, it appears – on Friday in an effort to explain its decision to exclude serving Magistrates from applying for the new posts.Yesterday, the Commission also issued a media release to say that the new posts are temporary posts in which Magistrates would be appointed on two-year contracts in an effort to address the backlog of pending cases that has plagued the country’s lower courts for years.The new positions advertised are 13 posts on the level of a Principal Legal Officer – one notch above the level of a Senior Legal Officer, which in turn is a notch higher than the entry level posts for junior Magistrates – as well as five posts at Chief Legal Officer level.The Chief Legal Officer posts offer an annual salary of N$235 404 (N$19 617 a month), while the Principal Legal Officer posts offer a salary between N$181 185 and N$193 869 a year (N$15 098 to N$16 155 per month).”Magistrates, Prosecutors who are already employed by the Ministry of Justice must not apply,” the advertisement for the posts states.”Preference will be given to the Namibian citizens and Legal Officers with Legal background in the Roman Dutch Law in the SADC country,” it also stated, warts and all.Disgruntled Magistrates have taken this part of the advertisement as an indication that the new posts may be intended to be filled by people from outside Namibia.”They’ve been telling us for the last years that there’s no money for new posts,” one Magistrate told The Namibian last week.”We’ve been waiting for Chief and Principal posts to become available, but now that they are, we’re being barred.It’s bloody unfair,” the Magistrate said.”We believe this is designed to bring in people from outside,” the Magistrate said.”Why couldn’t they make entry-level and senior posts available if there is a problem with the workload?” the Magistrate added.Another Magistrate said they did not have a problem with temporary posts being advertised or that people from outside Namibia might be appointed.Their problem was that the new posts were all at a promotional level, and that competent serving Magistrates are now in effect being denied an opportunity for promotion, the Magistrate said.This Magistrate, too, charged that it was suspected that the new posts were designed to be filled by people from outside Namibia.”Do they think we are so stupid that they’ll bluff us with this thing of ‘Namibians will be given preference’?” the Magistrate said.The new posts are intended as a short-term solution that should address the serious backlog of cases being experienced at many Magistrate’s Courts across Namibia, the Commission said in yesterday’s media statement.It stated that a committee chaired by Deputy Justice Minister Utoni Nujoma had to study the problem of the case backlog and make recommendations to address it.The appointment of temporary Magistrates on two-year contracts was one of the committee’s suggestions.”The Commission decided that Magistrates and prosecutors who are currently employed within the Ministry of Justice should not be allowed to apply for these positions, as this would create vacancies that would take time to be filled and result in a further backlog of cases,” the Commission stated.”The appointment of temporary staff to address a specific problem is generally accepted practice,” it was also stated.The Commission did not comment on the complaint that temporary appointments could have been made on a lower job level, while giving serving Magistrates an opportunity to apply for the new higher-level posts.In their lawyer’s letter, the Magistrates have charged that the Commission breached an implied term of their employment agreement by not at least giving them an opportunity to apply for promotional posts.They have demanded an answer to their letter by Friday.If the Commission failed to address their objections, they would declare a labour dispute – which is a first step on the way to possible strike action – one of the Magistrates said yesterday.By yesterday, a lawyer acting on behalf of the Magistrates had written to the Commission to inform it that they regard the decision as unfair and discriminatory.The lawyer also asked that the Commission give an undertaking within seven days that serving Magistrates would be allowed to apply for the new advertised posts.STRIKE NOT RULED OUT Magistrates, up in arms over the conditions set in the advertisement for the new posts, last week went as far as threatening to strike if the Commission failed to clear up their misgivings.The Commission in turn addressed a circular letter to the Magistrates – its first circular to Magistrates this year, it appears – on Friday in an effort to explain its decision to exclude serving Magistrates from applying for the new posts.Yesterday, the Commission also issued a media release to say that the new posts are temporary posts in which Magistrates would be appointed on two-year contracts in an effort to address the backlog of pending cases that has plagued the country’s lower courts for years.The new positions advertised are 13 posts on the level of a Principal Legal Officer – one notch above the level of a Senior Legal Officer, which in turn is a notch higher than the entry level posts for junior Magistrates – as well as five posts at Chief Legal Officer level. The Chief Legal Officer posts offer an annual salary of N$235 404 (N$19 617 a month), while the Principal Legal Officer posts offer a salary between N$181 185 and N$193 869 a year (N$15 098 to N$16 155 per month).”Magistrates, Prosecutors who are already employed by the Ministry of Justice must not apply,” the advertisement for the posts states.”Preference will be given to the Namibian citizens and Legal Officers with Legal background in the Roman Dutch Law in the SADC country,” it also stated, warts and all.Disgruntled Magistrates have taken this part of the advertisement as an indication that the new posts may be intended to be filled by people from outside Namibia.”They’ve been telling us for the last years that there’s no money for new posts,” one Magistrate told The Namibian last week.”We’ve been waiting for Chief and Principal posts to become available, but now that they are, we’re being barred.It’s bloody unfair,” the Magistrate said.”We believe this is designed to bring in people from outside,” the Magistrate said.”Why couldn’t they make entry-level and senior posts available if there is a problem with the workload?” the Magistrate added.Another Magistrate said they did not have a problem with temporary posts being advertised or that people from outside Namibia might be appointed.Their problem was that the new posts were all at a promotional level, and that competent serving Magistrates are now in effect being denied an opportunity for promotion, the Magistrate said.This Magistrate, too, charged that it was suspected that the new posts were designed to be filled by people from outside Namibia.”Do they think we are so stupid that they’ll bluff us with this thing of ‘Namibians will be given preference’?” the Magistr
ate said.The new posts are intended as a short-term solution that should address the serious backlog of cases being experienced at many Magistrate’s Courts across Namibia, the Commission said in yesterday’s media statement.It stated that a committee chaired by Deputy Justice Minister Utoni Nujoma had to study the problem of the case backlog and make recommendations to address it.The appointment of temporary Magistrates on two-year contracts was one of the committee’s suggestions.”The Commission decided that Magistrates and prosecutors who are currently employed within the Ministry of Justice should not be allowed to apply for these positions, as this would create vacancies that would take time to be filled and result in a further backlog of cases,” the Commission stated.”The appointment of temporary staff to address a specific problem is generally accepted practice,” it was also stated.The Commission did not comment on the complaint that temporary appointments could have been made on a lower job level, while giving serving Magistrates an opportunity to apply for the new higher-level posts.In their lawyer’s letter, the Magistrates have charged that the Commission breached an implied term of their employment agreement by not at least giving them an opportunity to apply for promotional posts.They have demanded an answer to their letter by Friday.If the Commission failed to address their objections, they would declare a labour dispute – which is a first step on the way to possible strike action – one of the Magistrates said yesterday.