President panel names 8 nominees for position of Chief Justice
From the Presidents Office: Chief Justice nominations update
President Cyril Ramaphosa wishes to thank members of the public for responding to his invitation to participate in the process of nominating the next Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa.
The process began on 16 September 2021 when President Cyril Ramaphosa called on South Africans to nominate suitably qualified candidates for this critical position as Head of the Judiciary of South Africa. This invitation was intended to promote transparency and enable public participation.
The submission process closed at midnight on 01 October 2021.
In response to the call for public participation, the public made 148 submissions which
consisted of 25 names. Some of these individuals featured in more than one submission. Of the 25 names, only 8 nominations met the criteria as set out in the call by the President.
The criteria referred to above, stipulated the following:
• A nomination letter, including the contact details of the nominator;
• The nominee’s acceptance of the nomination and their contact details;
• Letters of support for the nomination, including contact details of persons or entities that support the nomination, including at least one letter of support from a professional body of legal practitioners, non-governmental organisation working in the field of human rights, or other legal field; and
• Any additional documentation that the person nominating the candidate for Chief Justice deems relevant.
The Nominations Panel which is chaired by Judge Navanethem (Navi) Pillay assessed and scrutinised all submissions.
The 8 names that qualified for nomination as set out in the criteria are, in alphabetical
order:
6. Judge President Dunstan Mlambo
8. Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo
The biographies of the nominees are available on www.thepresidency.gov.za for inspection by the public. (and embedded in the links above)
South Africans are now invited to submit in writing any objections they may have regarding the nominees to angeline@presidency.gov.za and OSewpaul@justice.gov.za by 17:00 on Friday, 15 October 2021.
The panel will consider objections before submitting a shortlist of three to five names to the President. The Panel is required to report to the President by Friday, 29 October 2021 and its Terms of Reference are also available on the Presidency website.
Media enquiries: Tyrone Seale, Acting Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
Dear all
I wish to take this opportunity to nominate Judge President Hlophe. I did do some research about him regarding his legal Profession he is the best candidate that can be our future Chief Justice.
Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has proved to most South Africans that he has what we need. He is patient, kind and sticks to the rules and procedures. He was also not intimidated by anyone’s wealth or position.
Please give us hope during the tough period of Covid!
I vote for judge Hlophe