Mandatory mediation raises concerns about the rule of law

Just before the long weekend, Judge President Dunstan Mlambo of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, issued a draft directive on obligatory mediation together with a protocol for the directive’s implementation.

The thrust of the directive is to make mediation mandatory for all parties seeking civil trial dates in the Gauteng division. It notes that the division is setting down civil trials as far ahead as 2031 and acknowledges that the situation is intolerable. To resolve this, the directive...