Article 78 of the Namibian Constitution determines that the judicial powers shall be vested in the courts of Namibia (comprising of the Supreme Court, High Court and Lower Courts). Article 78 also underscores the independence of the Namibian Judiciary. Article 78 further sets the duty of other organs of the state to protect the courts, judges, magistrates and officials. The Namibian Constitution Third Amendment, 2014 (Act No. 8 of 2014) introduced significant changes to the Judiciary and its governance. The Namibian Constitution Third Amendment Act, 2014 accords administrative and financial autonomy to the Judiciary. Once the Constitution was amended, Parliament enacted the Judiciary Act, Act 11 of 2015. The Judiciary Act unified all courts under one office – the Office of the Judiciary. The establishment of the Office of the Judiciary reinforces the doctrine of separation of powers and independence of our Judiciary. The Office of the Judiciary is an administrative office and supports the courts to fulfill their constitutional mandate in upholding the rule of law and in delivering justice impartially, speedily, effectively and efficiently. The administrative office led by the Executive Director supports the courts under the direction and control of the Chief Justice. The day-to-day administrative and financial running of the affairs of the Judiciary is performed by the Executive Director, who is assisted by other staff members designated from the public service for such purpose. Esteemed surfer, you can visit the site of all our courts and the judicial administration of the Office of the Judiciary in the main menu. Information on the courts, their structure, jurisdiction and judicial officers is available on their respective sites. The purpose of this website is to provide information about the Judicial Branch of the Republic of Namibia. I hope this platform will serve as a valuable source of information and guidance to all our surfers
To be a world class leader in judicial excellence.
To uphold the Constitution by promoting the rule of law through administering justice in a fair, timely, accountable and accessible manner.
Justice for all, Unyielding independence, Service oriented, Timeliness, Integrity, Competence, Excellence
The Office of the Judiciary is an Office within the public service. It consists of staff members and judicial officers. Staff members, who are all civil servants, are appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Chief Justice. Staff members who were previously assigned by the Ministry of Justice to the Judiciary automatically have become members of the Office of the Judiciary on the date the Act came into operation. This legally means that the Judiciary now has its own Permanent Secretary, prepares its own budget, and determines its policies as well as priorities. The Chief Justice supervises the Judiciary, exercises responsibility over it and monitors the norms and standards for the exercise of judicial functions of all the courts. As a country, Namibia stands to benefit immensely from the establishment of the Office of the Judiciary. The development is a milestone in the country’s legal history. It puts Namibia on the map and on par with older democracies that have truly independent and functioning judiciaries. The legal fraternity and the public at large now have the opportunity to better tap into the resources which the Judiciary has at its disposal and to benefit from the high performance culture and new work ethic that the Office of the Judiciary endeavours to inculcate in its members. For the ordinary citizen, the Office of the Judiciary has set as its main aim not to do “business as usual” but “business extra-ordinary”. As the Office of the Judiciary, we have embraced His Excellency the President’s Harambee Prosperity Plan and shall strive to build a rainbow Judiciary which is responsive to the maintenance of the rule of law, separation of powers and independence of the Judiciary.
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