The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) plans to up the digitising ante for the country’s courts, expanding the functions of its cloud-based Court Online system.
To achieve this, the OCJ has allocated R66.6 million in the 2026/27 financial year (FY) and R84.9 million in 2027/28, from the integrated justice system programme in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DJCD).
This is according to the 2026 Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE), released alongside the 2026 National Budget.
The document shows the system will be expanded to automate criminal case management and enable integration with justice sector institutions, with the criminal module set to be developed in 2026/27 and implemented in 2027/28.
“The full rollout is expected to improve court efficiency, increasing the finalisation of default judgements from 91% in 2026/27, to a projected 93% in 2028/29,” it states.
“Judges’ conditions of service and Judicial Service Commission processes − such as judges’ gratuities and the registrable interest of judges − will also be automated as part of the full rollout.”
The OCJ is an established national department proclaimed by the president in August 2010, becoming fully operational as an independent department in 2015.
It is located within the public service to support the chief justice as head of the judiciary and head of the Constitutional Court. Justice and constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi serves as the executive authority.
Court Online is an end-to-end e-filing, digital case management and evidence management system for SA’s High Courts. It provides law practitioners with the opportunity to file documentation electronically online anywhere and anytime without being physically present at court.
It also aims to minimise the physical movement of people within the court buildings, minimise paper court documents from parties to the court, leverage the benefits of electronic storage for faster document filing and retrieval, as well as easy access to view the same court file filed by different parties.
The system was initiated last year, starting with a pilot at Gauteng High Courts that branched out to the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and other divisions of the High Court and labour courts across SA.
South Africa’s judicial processes are synonymous with archaic functions and systems that don’t speak to the modern evolution of technology.
Digitising South Africa’s criminal justice system is crucial to improve efficiency, transparency and accessibility.
The ENE document highlights that additional automation efforts will see the OCJ allocate R9.5 million over the medium-term to upgrade digital and network infrastructure, strengthen cyber security, ensure the continuity of electricity supply and enhance courtroom technology through the acquisition of equipment, such as large screens for virtual hearings.
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