Is it the end of the road for the panel of attorneys representing RAF?
The Gauteng High Court of Pretoria has, on 27 March 2020, handed down a judgment confirming the RAF’s directive to its attorneys that all files which were being handled by them(attorneys) be returned to the RAF. This is following the expiry of the contract between the RAF and its panel of attorneys, subsequent to which the attorneys allegedly refused to hand over the files on the basis that same would create chaos as the files would not be properly attended to in the care of the RAF. They further argued that this will have a negative impact on the road accident victims, an argument the RAF has vehemently rejected.
According to the RAF, they have designed new models pertaining to the administration processes and have further put measures in place to deal with those files efficiently. The attorneys have since lodged an appeal and same would be heard next week. The fight between the RAF and the attorneys is now spreading and involving other stakeholders in the judiciary. The attorneys argued that the judge who presided over the dispute between themselves and the RAF had attended meetings with the RAF wherein the panel of attorneys’ operation was also discussed. They contend that the judge should have recused himself as he had knowledge of the meeting and what was discussed during that meeting. Update will follow after the appeal has been heard.