Presiding Officer
The Presiding Officer is the adjudicator of an Equality Court. They are Judges of the High Courts and Magistrates of the Magistrates Courts. Presiding Officers undergo specialist training to ensure they are up to date with legal developments in equality issues.
The Presiding Officer will also decide if the Equality Court is really the correct forum for the matter to be heard. They have the power to transfer the matter to an "alternative forum." That means they might decide that your case should have gone to the CCMA. or that it woudl be better if someone from the Youth Commission adjudicated on the case.
Magistrates have special additional powers in Equality Courts: they can declare an "unlisted" ground to be unfair discrimination; and they can award a higher monetary penalty to a Repspondent than necessary. However, if they exercise this increased power, they must send the case to the High Court for the judge to condone.
