PAC calls for Industrial Court of Appeal

He stated that its establishment would be specifically to deal with issues of labour as an extension of the Industrial Court. Keorapetse said this at the ongoing PAC on Monday. He stated that the Industrial Court was a law of equity and it was not bound by strict rules and regulations of procedure and technicalities. He questioned, “Isn’t this lost when litigations appeal to the court of appeal, which it’s just a court of law bound by technicalities and rules of procedure”. Keorapetse further said when there is a court of appeal to deal with issues from the industrial court, there would be consistency in the jurisprudence.

“Trade unions and workers who litigate at the industrial court do not trust the court because it delayed justice and they did not trust judges who are appointed secretly in a dubious process,” Keorapetse said. He also asked whether it was not international best practice for the appointing authority to appoint judges of the Industrial Court acting on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).