Who sits on the JSC panel?

Here is an overview of the seating plan for the JSC Commissioners as at the JSC October 2024 interviews:

**Diagram updated 19 July 2024**

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is the constitutional body set up to appoint judges to the bench, to discipline them for misconduct, but also to advise the Government on any matter concerning the judiciary. The JSC is established in terms of section 178 of the Constitution and is made of up lawyers, politicians and judges, and a lone academic.

With hearings happening twice a year in the first week of April and October, you can tune in to the livestream of the hearings and watch the JSC strut its stuff.

The JSC usually sits in a long U-shaped table, with a head table in the middle and two tables flanking the head table to the left and right.

When they sit on the JSC, all its members (judges, lawyers or politicians) are referred to by the title ‘Commissioner’.

Here is a guide to who is who on the JSC panel.

 

AT THE HEAD OF THE TABLE

The Chief Justice

If you were a candidate seated facing the JSC, you would find the Chief Justice seated at the head of the panel [1]. The Chief Justice is the chairperson of the JSC. This position is held by recently-appointed Chief Justice Mandisa Maya.

The Chief Justice is designated in terms of section 178(1)(a) of the Constitution.

 The President of the Supreme Court of Appeal

Still at the head of the table, to left of the Chief Justice, sits the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) [2].

The President of the SCA is designated in terms of section 178(1)(b) of the Constitution and is currently Justice Mahube Molemela, who has been in the position since April 2023.

If either the Chief Justice or the President is not available, they may be replaced by either the Deputy Chief Justice or the Deputy President of the SCA respectively. In the most extraordinary situations when neither the incumbents or their deputies are not available, they may temporarily be replaced by the justices of the Concourt or the SCA who may be acting in those positions.

The Minister of Justice

Still at the head of the table, to the left of the Chief Justice, is the Minister of Justice, currently Minister Ms Thembi Simelane [4].

Minister Simelane was appointed to this position following the 2024 general elections and the establishment of the Government of National Unity. She will sit in the JSC interviews for the first time in October 2024. Should she not be able to attend the JSC interviews, then Deputy Minister Andries Nel would attend in her stead.

The Minister of Justice is designated in terms of section 178(1)(d) of the Constitution.

 Representative of the Judges President

Still at the head of the table, to the right of the Chief Justice, sits the judge who represents the Judges President [4], who are the leadership of the judges in each provincial division of the High Court.

Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo is currently the most senior judge president in the country, and currently serves in the role..

Over the years, the Judges President have been represented by Judge Monica Leeuw of the North West, Judge Basheer Waglay of the Labour Court, and former Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, which raised some controversy, as he was facing disciplinary action at the time.

The Judge President is designated in terms of section 178(1)(c) of the Constitution.

 

PARLIAMENTARIANS ON THE LEFT

If you are looking towards the head table, on the left flank of the Chief Justice, you will find a long table that sits politicians designated by the two houses of Parliament: six from the National Assembly, and four from the National Council of Provinces.

JSC commissioners from Parliament are designated after each national election, every five years, and the current members will service until the 2029 elections.

Six Persons Designated By The National Assembly

From the head of table, in the seats closest to the Minister of Justice are six members of the National Assembly designated in terms of section 178(1)(h) of the Constitution.

The first two are occupied by Soviet Lekganyane [5] and Fasiha Hassan [6], both senior members of the African National Congress, the largest party in the Seventh Parliament of democratic South Africa (2024 – 2029).

Before his election to Parliament, Lekganyane previously served in the Limpopo Government at MEC for cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional leadership. A lawyer by training, Hassan is known for her activism during Fees Must Fall. She became the youngest member of the Gauteng Legislature in 2019, serving as economic development committee chairperson, and was elected to Parliament in 2024.

While a newcomer to the JSC, the ActionSA party’s Athol Trollip [7] is an old hand in politics. He previously served as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, executive mayor of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, and a member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature.

Commissioner Julius Malema [8], the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is now the longest-serving MP on the of JSC (he was first elected in 2014). A man who knows where many small-anyana skeletons are buried, the JSC often holds its collective breath from time to time, as Mr Malema drills down into the affairs of a candidate. As a cross examiner, Malema is very precise and drives the candidates to admissions they may not have expected to find themselves making.

Although a member of the JSC since 2019, former prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach – a member of the Democratic Alliance – [9] has only physically attended the JSC in 2024. However, of the times she has appeared virtually, she has asked some tough questions.

After his impeachment as a judge in March 2024, the uMkhonto Wesizwe party – the new kid on the block – nominated John Hlophe [10] as its parliamentary leader and later representative on the JSC. Several civil society organisations, including Judges Matter, raised concern about this awkward situation of an impeached judge scrutinising the ethics of aspirant judges. Hlophe no doubt knows the ins-and-outs of the judiciary, and it will be interesting how he uses this information on the JSC.

Four permanent delegated to the National Council of Provinces

The four National Council of Provinces delegates complete the ten-member delegation from Parliament. Three of the four delegates are from the ANC with the last form the DA.

NCOP delegates are designated in terms of section 178(1)(i) of the Constitution.

First up, we have Refilwe Mtsweni-Thipane (ANC) [11],  the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). She previously held the position of Premier of Mpumalanga from 2018 to 2024. By virtue of her position as premier of a province,  and in terms of the provisions of section 178(1)(k) of the Constitution, Mtsweni-Thipane sat on the JSC when the JSC considered matters relating to the Mpumalanga High Court, including the appointment of the current judge president, and several of its judges. She now sits on the opposite side of the table.

Next is Mr Mosimanegape Kenneth Mmoiemang [12], a permanent NCOP delegate representing the Northern Cape, and the current chief whip of the NCOP. Mr Mmoiemang served as a member of the JSC from 2019 and has been re-elected to serve until 2029.

An admitted attorney, football administrator and chief of the amaBhala clan in the eMamponweni (Pondoland) area of the Eastern Cape, Inkosi Mwelo Nonkonyane (ANC) [13] brings an interesting mix of experience.  He serves as a permanent delegate representing the Eastern Cape province in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). It would be interesting to see how he uses his experience, particularly on the question of Traditional Courts.

Nicholas Gotsell (DA) fills the final seat [14] from the NCOP and closes the list of members of Parliament.  An admitted attorney, Gotsell served 7 years as a judge’s registrar before completing his article and was an associate attorney at Cape Town law firm De Klerk & van Gend. He served 8 years as the head of the DA’s federal legal commission before his election to Parliament in 2024.

 

ALWAYS ON THE RIGHT SIDE: THE LAWYERS

On the right flank of the Chief Justice’s head table are the lawyers, who all sit in one long table.

Two practicing advocates

Representing the advocate’s profession, and designated by  the General Council of the Bar, are Adv Kameshni Pillay SC [15] (nominated by Advocates for Transformation) and Adv Jennifer ‘Jenny’ Cane SC [16].  Both women are experienced lawyers who have the inside track from the advocates who work in the courts all the time. Having been a member since 2017, Cane SC is now something of a veteran of the JSC. In the last few years, Pillay SC has been designated as the ‘sweeper’ of the JSC, tasked with coming at the tail end of interviews to ask some of the difficult questions that would’ve been missed in the main part of the interview.

The two practising advocates are designated in terms of section 178(1)(e) of the Constitution.

 Four persons designated by the President

Originally nicknamed: ‘The President’s Men’, after Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward’s 1974 non-fiction book, ‘All the President’s Men’, now most are women, so that title no longer applies, a positive sign of ongoing transformation in the JSC.

In 2022 , President Ramaphosa designated senior advocates Sesi Baloyi SC [17] and Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC [18], together with senior attorneys Hlaleleni Kathleen Matolo-Dlepu [19] and Nomaswazi Shabangu-Mndaweni [20], the president of the SA Women Lawyers’ Association (SAWLA).

The President’s Appointees are designated in terms of section 178(1)(j) of the Constitution.

 A teacher of law

Representing legal academics as teachers of the law is Professor Clement Marumoagae [21], from Wits University’s School of Law. A relative newcomer to the JSC, Professor Marumoagae has become a familiar face and voice, as he routinely asks esoteric questions of jurisprudence and quality of written judgments, often ending with “how should I teach this to my students?”

Professor Marumoagae is designated in terms of section 178(1)(g) and was nominated by the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa.

 Two practicing attorneys

For the attorney’s profession we have Mthatha attorney Mr Mvuzo Notyesi [22], the current president of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL), and often asks questions in a grumpy growl that triggers the nerves of most candidates. Limpopo-based attorney Maboku Mangena was nominated by the Black Lawyer’s Association in 2023.

The two practising attorneys are designated in terms of section 178(1)(f) of the Constitution.

 

 REVOLVING SEATS

Also present at each round of interviews will be the Judge President [24] heading the division in which an appointment is being made. In addition to this on the interview panel is the Premier of the province [25] getting a new judge, or the Premier’s representative (often a senior MEC).

Altogether this makes up the 23 permanent members of the JSC. The number of commissioners on the JSC fluctuates depending on the subject matter of the meeting they are convening to discuss. The usual number is 23, which includes most of the permanent members of the JSC, This number increases to 25 when the JSC meets to make appointments to provincial High Courts and both the Premier and Judge President of the province concerned joins the JSC. The number decreases to only 15 when issues of judicial misconduct are discussed, and all members of Parliament are excluded.

For more information on what the JSC does you can read our introduction to the JSC.

This article was updated on 19 July 2024.

HERE IS A LIST OF THE CURRENT COMMISSIONERS ON THE JSC PANEL:

JSC COMMISSIONERS

As at 19 July 2024

 

	Head of the Table
1	Justice Mandisa Maya	Chief Justice (Chairperson)
2	Justice Mahube Molemela	President: Supreme Court of Appeal
3	Minister Thembi Simelane	Minister of Justice
4	Judge Dunstan Mlambo	Gauteng High Court
	To the Left of the Head
	NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
5	Soviet Lekganyane	ANC
6	Fasiha Hassan	ANC
7	Athol Trollip	ActionSA
8	Julius Malema	EFF
9	Glynnis Breytenbach	DA
10	John Hlophe	MK
	NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
11	Refilwe Mtsweni-Thipane	ANC
12	Kenneth Mosimanagape Mmoiemang	ANC
13	Inkosi Mvelo Nonkonyane	ANC
14	Nicholas Gotsell	DA
	To the Right of the Head
15	Adv Kameshni Pillay SC	General Council of the Bar (AFT)
16	Adv Jenny Cane SC	General Council of the Bar
17	Adv Sesi Baloyi SC	President’s Nominee
18	Adv Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC	President’s Nominee
19	Hlaleleni Kathleen Matolo-Dlepu	President’s Nominee
20	Nomaswazi Shabangu-Mndawe	President’s Nominee
21	Professor Clement Marumoagae	Wits Law School
22	Mvuzo Notyesi	Law Society of SA (NADEL)
23	Maboku Mangena	Law Society of South Africa (BLA)

 

REVOLVING SEATS

24          Judge President of the Division

25          Premier of the Province (or Premier’s appointee)

 

* NCOP = National Council of Provinces

* NADEL = National Association of Democratic Lawyers

* SAWLA = SA Women Lawyers Association

This is a general description of where commissioners sit to be used as a guideline. Commissioners may switch the order of seating amongst themselves.

[Updated: 30 July 2024]