Eight years of divorces may be null and void

The application centres on the status of one of the presiding officers of the North Eastern Divorce Court, Gerrit Jan Madern. Essentially, according to the papers filed in the High Court, if it is found that he was only appointed in a temporary capacity and that this was precluded by legislation, all divorces over which he presided between August 1997 and March 2005 would be of ‘no force and effect’ and if those people had remarried, they were, in effect, in polygamous marriages. A report in The Mercury says the North Eastern Divorce Court, which sits in the Durban Magistrates’ Court building and on circuit in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, was originally a ‘blacks only’ court but was opened to all races in 1997, giving those wanting to divorce a cheaper alternative to the High Court. In 2005, it was estimated that Madern was dealing with more than 250 divorces a month. In his application lodged with the court, Madern is seeking an order declaring that he was appointed as presiding officer in the court from 1997 to March 2005. He is also directing the Justice and Constitutional Development Minister and the Magistrates’ Commission to advise him of his present status. Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)