[South Africa] Magistrates’ association takes President to court over salary increases

In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing legal pressure to increase magistrates’ salaries by 34 per cent after the Association of Regional Magistrates of Southern Africa (Armsa) filed court proceedings, South African Labour News reports.

According to reporting from Business Live, the President is now in the difficult position of balancing judicial independence against the risk of triggering hikes across the entire public office payroll.

In court papers filed at the South Gauteng High Court, Armsa reportedly contends that magistrates’ workloads and responsibilities have significantly grown since 2008. However, their pay, capped at R1.16m a year, lags behind last October’s recommendation by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers. 

The court was due to hear the case on August 19. 

Armsa states that the case is a defence of judicial independence. “Adequate remuneration that is reflective of magistrates’ responsibilities in the law is a crucial aspect of judicial independence,” Hein Rudolf - chair of Armsa’s salaries committee - said in court papers. 

The commission recommends that magistrates currently earning R1,161,674 annually be paid R1,561,876 (a 34 per cent increase). It recommended increases for senior magistrates from R1,256,919 to R1,735,417, for regional magistrates from R1,516,364 to R1,908,959, and regional court presidents from R1,689,981 to R2,082,501. 

President Ramaphosa has reportedly had the review report for almost 10 months. In the papers, Rudolf argues that the president failed to make his determination within a reasonable legal time frame and “breached a written undertaking to make a determination by June 21 2025”.

Source: South African Labour News

(Quotes via original reporting)

In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing legal pressure to increase magistrates’ salaries by 34 per cent after the Association of Regional Magistrates of Southern Africa (Armsa) filed court proceedings, South African Labour News reports.

According to reporting from Business Live, the President is now in the difficult position of balancing judicial independence against the risk of triggering hikes across the entire public office payroll.

In court papers filed at the South Gauteng High Court, Armsa reportedly contends that magistrates’ workloads and responsibilities have significantly grown since 2008. However, their pay, capped at R1.16m a year, lags behind last October’s recommendation by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers. 

The court was due to hear the case on August 19. 

Armsa states that the case is a defence of judicial independence. “Adequate remuneration that is reflective of magistrates’ responsibilities in the law is a crucial aspect of judicial independence,” Hein Rudolf - chair of Armsa’s salaries committee - said in court papers. 

The commission recommends that magistrates currently earning R1,161,674 annually be paid R1,561,876 (a 34 per cent increase). It recommended increases for senior magistrates from R1,256,919 to R1,735,417, for regional magistrates from R1,516,364 to R1,908,959, and regional court presidents from R1,689,981 to R2,082,501. 

President Ramaphosa has reportedly had the review report for almost 10 months. In the papers, Rudolf argues that the president failed to make his determination within a reasonable legal time frame and “breached a written undertaking to make a determination by June 21 2025”.

Source: South African Labour News

(Quotes via original reporting)