Surge in Supreme Court appeals

Namibia’s Supreme Court has experienced a surge in the number of appeals it had to deal with during 2023, Chief Justice Peter Shivute has confirmed. The Namibian reports that the Office of the Judiciary said 181 new matters were registered at the Supreme Court last year – an increase of about 59% from the 114 cases registered at the court in 2022. The court ‘successfully managed to uphold its high standard in the disposal rate of cases’, Shivute said, noting that out of 98 matters enrolled for a hearing during 2023, 93 were heard and judgements were delivered in 87 cases, translating into a case disposal rate of 93%. In 2022, 49 matters were heard in the Supreme Court and 47 judgements delivered, statistics released by the CJ also show. ‘It is crucial that both litigants and especially legal practitioners make a concerted effort to familiarise themselves thoroughly with the court’s rules to uphold the efficiency and integrity of our judicial process,’ Shivute stated.