Sheriffs of the Southern African regions walking towards progress

Eight delegations of the Southern African Regions attended the seminar

Kenya (Mr S. Mutahi Gathogo), Lesotho (Mr Justice T.E. Monopathi), Malawi (Mr Peter Mlauzi), Namibia (Mr Manfred Hennes), South Africa (Mr Sabeir Ismail), Swaziland (Mr Shiyumhlaba Dlamini), Uganda (Solomon Lubega) and Zimbabwe (Mr Bonny Nhamburo).

The UIHJ delegation was heavily represented as half of the board convened, headed by its president, Jacques Isnard and its first vice-president, Leo Netten (Netherlands): René Duperray (France), general secretary, Jean Christin (Switzerland), treasurer, Johann Fourie (South Africa) and Roland de Meerleer (Belgium), members, as well as Mathieu Chardon (France), member of the Committee.
 
Harmonizing legal systems

In his welcome speech, Johnny de Lange, MP, Deputy minister for Justice and Constitutional development, indicated that the effect of globalisation on the law can be seen in the universal adoption and implementation of what are widely known as valuable legal norms and approaches, for example, the principle of the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements. Since the inception of democracy, Sheriffs have assumed a very important role as a vital interface between the justice system and the public. We believe that it is imperative to strengthen international instruments that are capable of serving timely and reliable processes. South Africa recognises the importance of promoting regional and continental cooperation and we realise that in order to meet demands of investments and business there is a strong need to promote the harmonisation of legal systems in this region along the lines of the grouping of the mainly francophone zone countries into the Ohada. I hope, he said, that the global organisations such as the UIHJ continue to play a key role in our efforts. Mr de Lange warmly thanked the UIHJ for their efforts to foster closer international judicial co-operation and for the work in improving the recognition of judicial officers and Sheriffs throughout the world.

In his allocution, Jacques Isnard, president of UIHJ, underlined the excellent thorough work achieved by Johann Fourie and Robbie Shilz (permanent secretary of UIHJ for the Southern African regions). Without them, he said, we would certainly not be here today. In order to develop, economic operators need security, in transactions, in settlings disputes and in the execution of legal decisions. The force imposed by economy, business and finance, must be compensated - not by a counter-force - but by a counterbalance so that economy and money do not govern everything and do not dispose of everything. This counterbalance must be the task of jurists whose duty is to make their voices heard so that the law, which is also a source of equity and legitimacy, may prevail over the power, indeed the hegemony, of finance.

The Pretoria resolution

It is the third time that UIHJ goes to South Africa since 1999. In May 2001, an key Permanent Council was held in Cape Town. A resolution was voted in order to facilitate a bringing together of the different regions of Africa. Thus was created the CADAT project, for the name of three major African towns that bind Africa from North to South: Cape Town, Dakar and Tunis. In consideration of the important improvement in terms of training and level of the profession in the francophone regions, both in West Africa and in North Africa, the time was right to go back to the Southern African regions colleagues.

The seminar evolved around the 15 November 1965 Hague Convention on the service abroad of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters (presentation by Leo Netten), Ohada (presentation by Mathieu Chardon, debt collection (presentation by Roland de Meerleer), and the self employed profession of enforcement agents (presentation by Leo Netten). Round table discussions followed every workshop. Every delegation was also able to make a presentation of the situation of their profession in their country, allowing for many fruitful international exchanges.

At the term of the seminar, the following resolution was adopted.

Pretoria resolution
Considering the Cape Town resolution that was adopted during the Permanent Council of UIHJ on 11th May 2001 in which it was determined to organize, at the level of Africa as a whole, a bringing together of the member States of the Ohada and the SADC regions, as well as the member States of North Africa and the Middle East, with the view to facilitate the transfer of judicial and extra judicial instruments, as well as the execution of court decisions

Considering that the progress in southern African regions has to keep up with the development of other African regions

Considering that the level of training and qualification of the Sheriffs and enforcement agents profession in the southern African regions needs to be improved

Considering the globalization of the economic sector and its consequence in the field of investments, which requires a necessary adaptation for an efficient judicial system

Realizing that the actual economic society needs a swift and reliable recovery of debt in which the functions of the Sheriffs and enforcement agents are extended to render such a service

In consequence
The presidents of the southern African regions convened in Pretoria on 25 Februrary 2005 and adopted, as part of the final resolutions of their work, the following four proposals:

Thus, the present resolution was signed by the representatives of the delegations.

Pretoria, 25th February 2005

 

 

Country	Name of the representative
Kenya	Mr S. Mutahi. Gathogo
Lesotho	Mr Justice T.E. Monopathi
Malawi	Mr Peter Mlauzi
Namibia	Mr Manfred Hennes
South Africa	Mr Sabeir Ismail
Swaziland	M. Shiyumhlaba Dlamini
Uganda	M. Solomon Lubega
Zimbabwe	M. Bonny Nhamburo