By Sabastian Chetty, ProBono.Org intern, Durban
The help desk at the Durban High Court was established by ProBono.Org as part of a pilot project in April 2017 in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society to fulfil their mutual vision to address the lack of access to justice for unrepresented people and communities appearing before the High Courts. The ultimate aim and objective of this partnership is to promote the right enshrined in section 34 of our Constitution, which gives everyone the right to access to courts. The idea for the project came from the Deputy Judge President of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Division of the High Court, the Honourable Justice Madondo.
Since its establishment, the help desk has assisted a number of disadvantaged people who would otherwise not have obtained the relief they desired. The growth of the desk is evident from the numbers of people we attend to, which is increasing daily. In June alone, 44 clients were seen. The desk deals with legal issues ranging from housing, evictions and consumer law to family law.
Many matters coming before the desk are of a family law nature, specifically dealing with urgent applications regarding children and their rights. These matters are given immediate attention due to their urgency, as they require an application to be brought or opposed in court within a very short period of time after the matter is brought to the desk. The challenges and pressure in these matters are overcome by the dedication of the advocates who are readily available to come to our organisation’s assistance in taking on the matters at short notice.
We hope that the commitment the volunteer attorneys and advocates have shown will continue and inspire other legal professionals to get involved in contributing to the vision of making justice accessible to all, irrespective of wealth or status.
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