2023 Judicial Report: 7,955 Cases & Rising Criminal Offenses

The judiciary has released its annual report, highlighting significant developments in the judicial landscape for the year 2023. The Supreme Court noted a slight decrease in the total number of cases filed, dropping from 8,008 in 2022 to 7,955 in 2023, indicating a reduction in pending cases. However, a notable increase in criminal offenses was recorded.

In the legal aid sector, there was a rise in both requests and expenditures, although the number of approved applications saw a slight decline.

Additionally, the revenue collected by the courts fell from Rs 476 million to Rs 444 million, while judicial expenses experienced a minor increase from Rs 633 million to Rs 642 million.

Key Statistics from 2023

The report reveals several changes in the Supreme Court’s activities over the past year. The total number of cases filed (excluding appeals) saw a minimal decrease of 0.7%, reflecting a shift from 8,008 cases in 2022 to 7,955 in 2023.

Likewise, the total number of resolved cases (excluding appeals) fell by 0.8%, declining from 7,788 cases in 2022 to 7,724 in 2023.

Notably, pending cases decreased significantly by 20.1%, from 10,108 in 2022 to 8,080 at the end of 2023.

Within the criminal division of the Supreme Court, the number of convicted criminal offenses surged from 27 to 41 between 2022 and 2023.

Drug-related offenses rose sharply from 18 to 29 cases, while murder cases increased from four to five, and one case of rape was reported in 2023, compared to none in 2022.

However, homicides classified as involuntary saw a decrease, declining from five to four during the same timeframe.

Appeals and Divorce Cases

In 2023, a total of 312 appeals (227 civil and 85 criminal) were filed in the Supreme Court, representing a 31.7% increase compared to 2022.

Notably, 21.6% of the civil appeals originated from lower courts, while 87.1% of the criminal appeals also came from these courts.

The total number of appeals resolved rose by 8%, increasing from 250 cases in 2022 to 270 in 2023, largely due to a rise in civil cases, which climbed from 160 to 195.

By the end of 2023, there were 326 appeals (230 civil and 96 criminal) pending, an increase of 2.8% from the previous year.

The number of divorce petitions filed increased by 1.9%, from 2,784 in 2022 to 2,836 in 2023. The number of resolved divorce petitions also grew by 9.5%, culminating in 3,100 cases being adjudicated compared to 2,831 in 2022.

Among these resolved cases, a notable 87% resulted in a divorce decree.

At the end of 2023, the backlog of divorce cases stood at 1,648, marking a 29.3% reduction from the previous year. Notably, 33.9% of petitioners were women, while 23.9% were men.

Approximately 42.2% of the divorces were granted by mutual consent, with 64.4% of couples having been married for 14 years or less, and 63.6% having one or no children from the marriage.

Summary of Court Activity

In the first three months of 2023, a total of 2,512 cases were resolved, with 582 (23.2%) originating from the Commercial Court, 1,174 (46.7%) from the Family Division, and 756 (30.1%) from the Supreme Court Registry.

Of the cases resolved within these three months at the Registry, 73.7% involved civil proceedings.

At the Intermediate Court, the total number of civil and criminal cases recorded between 2022 and 2023 rose by 5.9%, climbing from 1,448 to 1,533.

This increase was primarily driven by a significant 19.5% rise in criminal cases, which escalated from 487 to 582.

Conversely, civil cases saw a slight decrease of 1.0%, going from 961 to 951.

During the same period, total resolved cases experienced a 2.5% increase, rising from 1,724 to 1,767, with civil cases rising by 8.1% and criminal cases decreasing by 5.5%. Meanwhile, the total number of pending cases in both civil and criminal categories dropped by 6.5%, from 3,626 to 3,392.

Legal Aid Insights

In 2023, approximately 1,532 legal aid requests were received, with 1,497 related to civil cases.

The Supreme Court granted 696 legal aid applications, marking a decrease of 5.3% from the 735 granted in 2022.

Out of the 1,303 requests for legal assistance in matrimonial civil cases, 489 were accepted, while 172 were granted for other civil proceedings.

Notably, all 35 requests for legal assistance related to criminal cases were accepted.

From 2022 to 2023, the total expenditures for legal aid surged by 66.6%, escalating from Rs 1,783,372 to Rs 2,971,488.

During the fiscal year from July 2022 to June 2023, revenue collected by various courts and the Rodrigues Court was approximately Rs 444 million (provisional), reflecting a 6.8% decline from Rs 476 million in the previous financial year.

Meanwhile, the estimated expenditures of the judicial system rose by 1.4%, rising from Rs 633 million to Rs 642 million.

Source: l’Express