Criteria for the selection of judicial leaders must reflect the search for jurisprudential leaders. The role of Judge Presidents A Judge President is the administrative head of a High Court Division in South Africa. The Judge President is expected to provide effective leadership to the division to ensure that judges in the division perform their […]
In May, Labour Court Judge, Anton Steenkamp, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly as the result of a black mamba bite while he was on holiday in Zambia. We feel the loss of Judge Steenkamp as being a blow to the bench as well as to our community more broadly. We mourn his passing. We share […]
In April the Judicial Service Commission interviewed nine candidates for five vacancies at the Supreme Court of Appeal. As was the case in previous rounds for these vacancies, the candidates were grilled on divisions within the SCA and their experience of collegiality while acting at the court. The candidates all alluded to certain divisions within […]
Six candidates were interviewed for the Constitutional Court on Wednesday 3 April 2019 for two vacancies at the highest court. Of these candidates, five were recommended to the President for appointment. In line with section 174(4) of the Constitution the President will now appoint two Constitutional Court judges from the list of five names sent […]
The first black judge in South Africa was appointed to the bench in 1991. Since the inception of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in 1994, there has been a concerted effort to transform the judiciary by making it more equitable and diverse in terms of gender and race. This is in line with section 174(2) […]
Throughout the year we write articles to share more information about the JSC, the judges’ interview process and the South African judicial system as a whole. Here is a list of our most popular articles in 2018. 1. The JSC’s uneven line of questioning on judicial transformation Posted: 8 June 2018 Section 174 (2) of […]
Here is our overview of some of the highlights from the JSC Interviews and other judicial developments during the year of 2018. April 2018 JSC interviews At the April round of interviews the JSC interviewed nine candidates for the Supreme Court of Appeal. This included interviewing Judge President Betty Molemela who was duly nominated to […]
After the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Interviews on 2 October 2018, the Chief Justice sat down with Judges Matter and the media to address the question of Constitutional Court vacancies. The question raised was to address the fact that in 2018 the JSC did not advertise (or call for nominations) for Constitutional Court vacancies even […]
The Judge President of the Western Cape asked a number of questions in the October 2017 hearings of the JSC. These questions went to what are called the skewed briefing patterns that exist, generally referring to how members of the advocates’ profession obtain work from attorneys. He asked Mr Papier: The issue Mr Papier, of […]
This article was written by Paul Hoffman SC and was originally published in the Daily Maverick on 13 August 2018. Daily Maverick columnist, Stephen Grootes, has cast aspersions on the legitimacy of the judiciary in a recent wide-ranging piece of political analysis. It is important to interrogate the legitimacy of the judiciary carefully as it […]
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