Fathers’ rights organisation, Fathers 4 Justice South Africa, said it fully supports the decision by Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo on his directive for mandatory mediation in civil trial matters, as this is the correct route to follow.

Its chairman, Gary da Silva, in response to a Constitutional Court challenge against the directive, said Judge Mlambo’s leadership is courageous, constitutionally sound, and morally necessary.

“He has recognised what the legal profession refuses to admit: that endless litigation is not justice, but exploitation.”

Da Silva added that it was time the endless litigation in family matters came to a speedy end, as, according to him, the only winners in the end are the lawyers who charge exorbitant legal fees.

“We call upon the Law Reform Commission, Parliament, and the Executive to immediately extend his directive across the entire South Africa. The children and families of South Africa cannot and must not be sacrificed any longer to the greed within the divorce industry,” he said.

Since last week, the Johannesburg and Pretoria high courts no longer allocate trial dates for civil cases – cases where evidence is being led, such as damages claims. Litigants, who in these cases want a judge to determine their issues, must first prove that they have tried to resolve their issues via mediation.

A trial date will be allocated only if mediation does not resolve the issues, and they can prove via a certificate that they did try it. The reasoning behind this, according to the Office of the Chief Justice, is to alleviate the congested civil roll, where most matters are settled on the day of the trial.

Pretoria attorney Gert Nel, who is a leader on Road Accident Fund matters, is challenging this directive in the apex court.

His main point of argument is that the directive is not legally sound. Nel said it is not about the assumption that he and other members of the legal fraternity who are against the directive are against mediation. It’s about judicial overreach, he said.

While civil trials involve matters where evidence is led before a court, such as in damages claims, it also extends to some family law matters, such as contested divorces and opposed custody issues, where evidence is led in court.

In this regard, Da Silva criticised the legal fraternity for “dragging urgent reform into the Constitutional Court to obstruct immediate access to effective justice”.

“This challenge is not about protecting rights or enhancing fairness; it is about safeguarding their grotesque financial interests. It is about maintaining the machinery that generates blood money from the suffering of children and families,” he said.

Da Silva accused lawyers, advocates, and associated professionals of having built a system designed to keep mothers and fathers locked in endless lawfare, solely to line their pockets. He said most defendants in these matters cannot afford prolonged litigation.

According to Fathers 4 Justice, the courts should be the final resort, not the first. “Parents must first be protected from opportunistic legal predation through compulsory mediation and arbitration, ensuring their disputes are resolved fairly, swiftly, and affordably.” 

Da Silva added: “We demand that automatic mandatory mediation must be implemented immediately, without exception, without compromise.”

According to Da Silva, any failure by the government to implement these changes will make them active collaborators in the continued abuse of children and families by the divorce industry.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za

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