Dear Editor,
I am the Respondent in an appeal pending before the Court of Appeal for over six years. It concerns a multi-million dollar business operation in the hands of persons who are not entitled to it. For years, they have been degrading this business, reaping all the financial rewards and benefits, while the legal owners are excluded and not receiving a cent.
After waiting all this time, my lawyer received a notice informing that submissions should be filed with the Court by the lawyers. The Appellant must file their submissions first. After several months, the Appellant’s lawyers failed to file their submissions. My lawyer has enquired from the Court that he received no submissions but would like the Appeal to be heard. A staff of the court has informed my lawyer that the court does not fix appeals for hearing if there are no submissions filed.
Is this the law? So, a litigant who is benefitting from the litigation that is pending can instruct his lawyer not to file submissions and the case will not be heard?
Something must be done to make the judiciary more accountable. They are funded with billions of dollars of taxpayers’ monies annually. More and more litigants must rise up and speak about the injustices that they face meted out by the justice system itself. Somebody needs to take the bull by the horns. I am doing my bit by this letter. Others must follow if they want a change.
Yours faithfully,
Seekumaar Singh
Frustrated litigant
