Justice at a snail’s pace: the implementation of the domestic violence act (Act 116 of 1998) at the Johannesburg family court

Abstract

The article focuses on the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act (Act 116 of 1998) at the Johannesburg Family Court for the period March to December 2004 by examining a sample of case files. The author examines who the parties are to an application for a protection order, the type of conduct complained of in the application, the appearance of the parties in court, the duration of the process and the type of relief granted by the court. In conclusion the author makes a number of recommendations that law and policy makers should take cognisance of.