On 05 June 2024, it was announced that the new Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court Rules will take effect on 17 July 2024. These new rules are set to replace the existing ones upon their commencement. The Rules will have a direct impact on court process in the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court. Court rules are designed to effectively regulate and expedite the resolution of disputes that are initiated through the judicial process. Accordingly, abiding by court rules are imperative to ensure that a matter is properly placed before a court and the litigious process is respected.
However, a critical question remains unresolved: which rules will apply to matters instituted before the new rules come into effect?
There is no formal directive in answer to the aforementioned question, but in line with the established principle in Samuels v Old Mutual Bank [2017] 7 BLLR 681 (LAC), the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) had to consider, among other things, whether the Practice Manual which came into effect on 1 April 2013, applied to matters instituted before it came into operation. In this regard, it found that the Practice Manual applied to matters instituted before its effective date.
In the current situation where the question of whether the Rules will apply to matters instituted prior to its commencement on 17 July 2024, the Samuels case is insightful in furnishing guidance. The takeaway is that it is likely that the same principle in the Samuels case will apply in relation to the Rules in the context of matters that were instituted prior to the commencement of the Rules. That being said, the Labour Court retains a discretion to consider the facts and circumstances of a particular matter in interpreting and applying the Rules.
Read the full gazette here.
