The City of Tshwane Municipal courts are branch courts of national Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. They were established in 2003 in collaboration with the national government in the spirit of cooperative governance and service delivery.
The core function of the Municipal Courts is to prosecute the offenders of:
- The traffic regulations;
- Infringements of the municipality’s by-laws and National Building Regulation and Schemes;
- Contraventions of the national and provincial legislation that the municipality enforces.
The Municipal Court Division also provides an administrative support service to Judiciary and Prosecution, as well as public services. The administrative support is given to Magistrate and Prosecutors.
The Municipal Court key performance areas are:
- Court accessibility to the public
- Equality and fairness in all procedures and decision
- Court independence and accountability
- Case flow management
- Recovery and collection of fines
- Information management system
- Public trust and confidence
The Need for Courts
The need for municipal courts is directly related to the number of officers serving in the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD). As the TMPD grows, increasing in size and regional coverage, so the cases load increases accordingly. Case volumes are further exacerbated by the finalisation and enforcement of by-laws by the relevant departments.