4. The Committee remains dissatisfied at slow progress in court performance despite many well-funded initiatives, including projects to reduce case backlogs and to ensure more efficient case management. The number of backlog cases appears to have declined gradually but is still unsatisfactory. A key focus for the Department is to facilitate the finalisation of case backlogs. However, the Committee is aware that the Department's role is largely limited to providing resources and personnel - the progress of a case is dependent on a number of other stakeholders. In the past year, there have been exciting developments. The Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Act, 2012, and Superior Courts Bill [B7 - 2011] provide the legislative framework that will enable the judiciary to take responsibility for the administration of judicial functions of all courts, including case flow management. The Committee is pleased to hear that the Chief Justice has already begun addressing judicial case flow management and that there is progress. Capacitating of the OCJ should also greatly assist the Chief Justice in addressing this priority.