Introduction of the Companies Tribunal’s Case Management System (CMS)
The Companies Tribunal (the Tribunal) is established in terms of section 193 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (the Act). It is a juristic person. It has jurisdiction throughout the Republic and started operating in 2012. It is mandated to adjudicate applications made in terms of the Act, to assist in the resolution of company disputes through Alternative Dispute Resolution and perform any other function assigned to it in terms of the Act.
Since the Tribunal’s inception, filing of applications has been done manually. This proved to be inefficient as applicants would not be able to track or have knowledge of the status of their applications. In order to advance efficiency, transparency and its vision of a world class adjudicatory and alternative dispute resolution that contribute to the promotion of fair and ethical corporate practices, the Tribunal is implementing a computerised business system called Case Management System (CMS).
The Tribunal has launched CMS on the 01st August 2019 to ensure better management of cases and allow clients to file applications online. This system provides a platform to track cases, provide alerts and will also assist the Tribunal to ensure compliance with minimum time delays. In line with best practices, the Tribunal needed to move with times, embrace technology as a strategic mechanism to resolve company disputes.
The CMS has the following benefits:
- Easy access to justice system anywhere and anytime;
- Timely location and retrieval of information/decisions on new and old cases;
- Effective communication and collaboration between parties and case administrator (registry team);
- Secure web and mobile access to case documentation online;
- Easy sharing of case documents or files between parties (applicant and respondent);
- Increased efficiency and turnaround time; and
- Online tracking and review of the case status.
The utilisation of the CMS will provide a platform to file applications, and to view the status of their application online. The Tribunal urges companies to take advantage of the services offered at no cost to client by the Tribunal as an alternative to courts. The CMS will be accessed through the Tribunal’s website i.e. www.companiestribunal.org.za
To view the Case Management System User Manual click here