The vital role and qualities of the Deputy Chief Justice
The vital role and qualities of the Deputy Chief Justice
The Deputy Chief Justice is far from a low-level paper pusher. The DCJ plays a crucial role in supporting the Chief Justice in executing her enormous responsibilities as head of the judiciary. Therefore, the role requires key leadership qualities not too dissimilar to those of the Chief Justice. (Find out more)
An intellectual leader on the Constitutional Court
The DCJ’s primary role is that of a Justice of the Constitutional Court. That means they have a duty to actively contribute to the functioning of the apex court, including adjudicating appeals and petitions, participating in hearings, and writing judgments.
The Deputy Chief Justice is far from a low-level paper pusher. The DCJ plays a crucial role in supporting the Chief Justice in executing her enormous responsibilities as head of the judiciary. Therefore, the role requires key leadership qualities not too dissimilar to those of the Chief Justice.
As the second in command, the DCJ also presides over hearings in the CJ’s absence and chairs several committees essential to the apex court’s functioning.
The DCJ therefore needs to be an intellectual leader in their own right. They need the jurisprudential heft to guide the Constitutional Court on key areas of the law, including persuading their colleagues to progressively develop the law to ensure relevance and certainty, in line with section 39 of the Constitution and the principle of stare decisis.
A standard-bearer on judicial conduct and ethics
Moreover, the DCJ chairs the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC), the body responsible for adjudicating judicial misconduct complaints and upholding judicial ethics nationwide. This is a delegated function by the CJ.
The five-member JCC receives complaints of judicial misconduct from the public and must adjudicate them based on their level of seriousness (i.e. less serious complaints are referred to the Head of Court, while complaints of gross misconduct are referred to the Judicial Conduct Tribunal). In serious complaints, the JCC must write reasoned rulings (akin to judgments), which is labour-intensive.
The DCJ therefore needs to set up systems to ensure the efficient adjudication of these complaints and communicate JCC rulings as speedily as possible.
The JCC is currently facing a record volume of complaints. According to its 2023/24 report, it received an average of 118 complaints per year from 2020 to 2024, with 78% of those from 2024 still unresolved. While the vast majority are frivolous, they still require adjudication. Meanwhile, its capacity is thinly spread, chiefly because it is primarily constituted by full-time, working (rather than retired) judges. A bill is currently before Parliament to increase the JCC’s membership from the current five to eleven.
In addition, the DCJ would have to take charge of the process to review the Code of Judicial Conduct, which is already a decade overdue.
Therefore, in this JCC role, the DCJ is effectively the standard-bearer on judicial conduct and ethics. They need to espouse the highest levels of integrity and set an example for conduct both on and off the bench. The DCJ is required to devote enormous time to the smooth running of the JCC.
A general leadership role in the judiciary
The DCJ holds several other significant roles: chairing the JSC in the CJ’s stead, attending (by invitation) the Heads of Court Forum – the judiciary’s central policy and governance structure – and chairing the executive committee of the council of the SA Judicial Education Institute.
Additionally, the DCJ serves on the judiciary’s National Efficiency Enhancement Committee, among other important roles. In this latter role, the DCJ needs to regularly engage the Executive on issues of court infrastructure, security and resources.
The new DCJ must be able to hit the ground running and partner with Maya and her team, while also taking crucial stakeholders like the legal profession, the Ministry of Justice, Parliament, and civil society along.
The South African judiciary is currently going through a great transition. Chief Justice Maya is taking the initial steps to implement her decade-long vision for the judiciary, which includes a ‘single judiciary’ where judges and magistrates fall under one umbrella, and more administrative independence for the courts – key resolution of the 2023 Judges Conference. The new DCJ would need to strengthen those relationships and assist Maya in implementing those resolutions.
The new DCJ must be able to hit the ground running and partner with Maya and her team, while also taking crucial stakeholders like the legal profession, the Ministry of Justice, Parliament, and civil society along.
In these fraught political times, the DCJ also needs to be vocal on promoting judicial excellence while defending judicial independence.
The JSC interviews for the next Deputy Judge President will take place on 2 – 3 July 2025 at the Sandton Hotel in Benmore, Sandton.
Identifying someone with all of these qualities in one would be a Herculean task. President Cyril Ramapahosa’s nominees
all possess some of these in greater or lesser extent. The question is – who will best step into the role?
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