Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal |57 effectiveness. 3.2 Human resources The main challenge related to human resources is the shortage of magistrates country-wide as well as the paucity of magistrates’ court buildings. Reports indicate that the shortage of magistrates was caused by the fact that JSC had frozen recruitment of magistrates due to budgetary constraints.82 This has reportedly resulted in magistrates working longer hours which may compromise the quality of judgments.83 Although there is a shortage of magistrates it has been reported that there is no backlog at the magistrate’s courts. This is commendable due to the efforts of JSC. However, it is understood that the High Court has a huge backlog which it is battling to clear and this means that many litigants will not have access to justice.84 This will be contrary to the constitutional requirement that justice must not be delayed.85 3.3 Training The closure of the Judicial College in 2008, due to financial challenges, has also affected training programmes for magistrates in Zimbabwe. However, acknowledging the role played by the Judicial College, the JSC is making efforts to reopen it for purposes of offering refresher courses to magistrates,86 with the objective of improving the quality of judicial service.87 Training of judges and magistrates is very important as it may help to ensure that members of the judiciary are aware of new legal developments, trends and approaches. It is in this light that even the Judicial Service Regulations acknowledge the need for such a college of continual education.88 82 The Independent, op cit note 79 83 The Independent, op cit 79 84 It must be highlighted that the introduction of digital records in the High Court has helped solve this problem. 85 Section 165(1)(b) 86 The Herald ‘JSC resuscitates Judicial College’ (July 30, 2015) 87 The Herald op cit note 83 88 Section 42