Unwed mom wins order for support

An East London mother has succeeded in getting a high court order compelling her former life partner to maintain their toddler son.

The case has been described as an "important victory" because it gives unmarried parents the same rights as divorced parents by allowing them to apply to the high court for child maintenance.

Maintenance courts, which sit at magistrate's courts, have been criticised for poor service and for taking too long to give a ruling.

But the following day a judge in another high court dished out harsh criticism to parents for using the high courts for maintenance matters.

Two weeks ago, acting Cape Town High Court Judge Nolwazi Boqwana said it was "degrading" to the magistrate's court that a father had approached her court in an attempt to get reimbursed for child maintenance that he claimed to have overpaid.

The man's lawyer told the court that his client had not received good service from the magistrate's court and that, because the matter was complex and had a constitutional element, the high court should hear the case instead.

Because of the costs already incurred in the matter, the judge agreed to hear the case, but said: "I find [the lawyer's] remarks about the magistrate's court's service very unfortunate and degrading of the lower courts and hardly a valid reason for a party's decision to bring a matter deserving of being heard in lower courts to the high court."

However, in the earlier matter, Judge Phakamisa Tshiki said nothing prevented the high court from dealing with maintenance issues.

"My view is that in all maintenance matters involving children the court should endeavour to see to it that they are dealt with as expeditiously as is practically possible," Tshiki said.

"It would not be in the best interests of [the child] if the maintenance issue were referred back to the maintenance court."

The East London mother's lawyer argued that children of unmarried parents should not be discriminated against by barring their parents from claiming maintenance in the high court.