Urgent applications for Labour Court to be submitted online

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On 9 July 2024, the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts hosted a workshop on the digitalisation of the case management system, which was facilitated by Gauteng Judge President Mlambo and acting Judge President Molahlehi. They advised that the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts in Gauteng had commenced with training on Court Online, with the intention to train the Labour Court in Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town in due course.

Urgent applications

In line with the above, on 31 July 2024, Molahlehi AJP issued a Practice Directive to the effect that, from 12 August 2024, all urgent applications in the Labour Court must be initiated through the Court Online system between 8am and 4pm on ordinary court days, with the urgent roll closing at noon on Thursday for the following Tuesday. The Court Online system is only available to new urgent applications (ie. those initiated from 12 August 2024).

This means that all urgent applications brought in terms of Rule 38 of the Rules Regulating the Conduct of Proceedings in the Labour Court (Labour Court Rules), which came into effect on 17 July 2024, must be initiated through the Court Online Portal by uploading only the initiating document, which is the notice of motion, marked as 'urgent'. This includes all restraint of trade urgent applications, which are required to comply with Rule 39 of the Labour Court Rules.

Once the initiating document has been uploaded, the Registrar will approve and endorse the request on the Court Online system and issue a case number. Effectively, a Court Online case file, equivalent to the physical court file, will be created on the Court Online Portal.

The introduction of the Court Online system will not interfere with the application of the Labour Court Rules. Therefore, parties are still required to comply with Rule 9 dealing with service of processes.

Hearings process

In light of these developments, urgent hearings will be heard either physically or remotely through online videoconferencing platforms, as per the prerogative of the presiding judge. An order issued in urgent proceedings shall then be communicated to the parties via email or through the Court Online platform within 24 hours.

We note that at the time of preparing this article, the Court Online platform is only showing the Johannesburg Labour Court as an option. Consequently, it is not yet clear whether urgent applications can be initiated on Court Online in all seats of the Labour Court. We point out, however, that the Practice Directive does not limit its application to the Johannesburg Labour Court and contemplates that the Court Online system will function in all Labour Courts. It remains to be seen whether the other seats of the Labour Court are added as options in the coming days.

In conclusion, the introduction of the Court Online system in the Labour Court, although currently only available in respect of urgent applications, is a welcomed development that aligns with the evolution of litigation designed to foster access to justice. We expect that, in time, Court Online will be rolled out to apply to all matters issued out of the Labour Courts. This will result in litigants having the benefit of cloud-based storage, addressing the issue of misplaced and archived court files.