Thanks To Acting Judge Heathcote

I THINK all the lawyers in Namibia should express a great thank you to Acting Judge Heathcote for the manner in which he acted in the N$30 million Social Security scandal.

The manner in which he responded to this case shows how effective a court can be when one knows the laws applicable and does not hesitate to enforce them strictly in order to achieve results. Actually, it is this kind of result-orientated approach the public expects of our courts.If the courts do adopt such an approach in all matters in which they are called upon to rule in a dispute, our country will be much better off, because it simply would mean that all our wonderful laws would be applied much more efficiently and that would produce results everywhere and in every field and create a fair and a more efficient and an economically viable society in Namibia.Judge Heathcote’s prompt actions stand in stark contrast to the experiences we lawyers have all had in the past in both the High Court and the Magistrate’s Court, where matters are delayed for endless months and years, points in limine on every possible turn of the case argued at great expense and never ruled upon promptly and judgements not delivered for years, literally making the courts meaningless to the litigating parties as a dispute-resolving institution, for which all courts are created in a modern society.The courts that don’t deliver judgements or take months or years to do so, are just as useful in a modern economy as an airline that never flies, or a hospital that does not have the right medicine to treat its patients.Judges are the most privileged and highly respected persons in our community, they get substantial salaries, great fringe benefits, long vacations, are generally respected by everyone in the country wherever they go, but in return one would expect them to take the position they hold seriously and fulfil it with responsibility, and that means prompt and results-oriented ruling in all matters in which they are approached by litigants who have called upon them to resolve their disputes.Unfortunately, that is of late not happening in Namibia.Regretfully, if all those who are responsible for the logistics in our courts, those who must ensure that matters are heard and judgements are delivered, would take some guidance from the manner in which Acting Judge Heathcote has been acting in this inquiry, the impact of his decision to leave no stone unturned in order to get to the bottom of the matter not only puts the court in a more favourable light with the public, but simultaneously increases the respect for the courts as an institution.Andreas Vaatz WindhoekActually, it is this kind of result-orientated approach the public expects of our courts.If the courts do adopt such an approach in all matters in which they are called upon to rule in a dispute, our country will be much better off, because it simply would mean that all our wonderful laws would be applied much more efficiently and that would produce results everywhere and in every field and create a fair and a more efficient and an economically viable society in Namibia.Judge Heathcote’s prompt actions stand in stark contrast to the experiences we lawyers have all had in the past in both the High Court and the Magistrate’s Court, where matters are delayed for endless months and years, points in limine on every possible turn of the case argued at great expense and never ruled upon promptly and judgements not delivered for years, literally making the courts meaningless to the litigating parties as a dispute-resolving institution, for which all courts are created in a modern society.The courts that don’t deliver judgements or take months or years to do so, are just as useful in a modern economy as an airline that never flies, or a hospital that does not have the right medicine to treat its patients.Judges are the most privileged and highly respected persons in our community, they get substantial salaries, great fringe benefits, long vacations, are generally respected by everyone in the country wherever they go, but in return one would expect them to take the position they hold seriously and fulfil it with responsibility, and that means prompt and results-oriented ruling in all matters in which they are approached by litigants who have called upon them to resolve their disputes.Unfortunately, that is of late not happening in Namibia.Regretfully, if all those who are responsible for the logistics in our courts, those who must ensure that matters are heard and judgements are delivered, would take some guidance from the manner in which Acting Judge Heathcote has been acting in this inquiry, the impact of his decision to leave no stone unturned in order to get to the bottom of the matter not only puts the court in a more favourable light with the public, but simultaneously increases the respect for the courts as an institution.Andreas Vaatz Windhoek