Judges locked out Juta's online law library
A contract dispute between the Department of Justice and publisher Juta has resulted in judges being locked out from accessing Juta's content, on which they rely as an archive of judgments and legal commentary.
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The dispute, which is over payment has left judges frustrated and could obstruct the administration of justice.
Juta provides premier law journals, law reports and commentary covering in-depth debate on current issues by expert subject specialists.
The journals are often cited and relied on by the courts.
Two judges, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that they had been barred from Juta's online content and had limited access to LexisNexis, another crucial data source.
"Because of the dispute judges have been cut off from Jutastat, an electronic library we use every day for doing our work ... it is an indispensable tool for judges ... we are basically not being provided with the basic tools to be able to do our work," said one judge.
The judges called on the office of the chief justice to intervene and put pressure on the Department of Justice.
The office of the chief justice referred questions to the department, saying that the dispute was between Juta and the department.
Numerous attempts to get comment from the department were unsuccessful.
Juta did not provide details on the exact amount owed by the department .
"Juta regrets it is unable to comment on the exact amount owed to Juta by the [department] ... we remain committed to working with the [department] to resolve all issues, including processes, systems, contracts and outstanding payments," Juta-acting CEO Megan Marinus said at the weekend.
"We can confirm that the situation is receiving urgent attention from both parties."
Source: Business Day
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