What if Paris Hilton comes to the New Delhi Commonwealth Games and gets caught smoking marijuana? Needles to say a lengthy court case would ensue.
However, thanks to special World Cup fast track courts in South Africa, which has a judicial system as lethargic as the courts in India, the case got dealt with even before the smoke had settled.
At the request of Fifa, the South African government set up 56 dedicated courts with their own prosecutors, defenders, magistrates, detectives and interpreters, who are employed specifically to ensure that criminals are caught, tried and sentenced as quickly as possible during the tournament.
The success of the World Cup courts, which have convicted 100 people, 42 of them tourists, as of Tuesday begs the question should the CWG organising committee and the Delhi Government adopt a similar quick justice measure for this October’s Commonwealth Games?
Set up at a cost of Rand45 million, the courts have proved to be a burden on the South African tax payer with an average of rand450,000 spent per prosecution. However, a spokesperson with the South African department of justice says in the long run these courts will end up saving money as trying cases for non-residents usually involves flying them to and from their home countries.
Major sporting events are prone to criminal activity, from petty theft of tourists to touts selling tickets illegally and such courts could make sense when India hosts its biggest-ever sporting extravaganza. If implemented they could be a boon for the residents and tourists and the over-burdened courts in a country where there over 38 lakh cheque bounce cases alone pending.
World Cup courts spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said a total of 216 cases had been dealt with since the start of the event, most at record pace.
“Prosecuting these cases has been a remarkable success with regards to the statistical account,” said Mhaga. “It is commendable. What is remarkable is here in the Western Cape there was not a single acquittal,” he said.
It has also drawn praise from the leader of the opposition party Helen Zille, who sees the special courts as an example of the lessons that the South African government can learn about improving service delivery.
“At this rate, the special World Cup courts will finalise five times more cases per month than normal courts.” He was quoted as saying.