Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s remarks that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as ANC leader spared the country from “further damage” have prompted a judicial misconduct complaint against him. Although the complaint itself lacks merit, it’s a timely reminder about the risk to judicial independence caused by judges participating in commissions of inquiry.
Maintaining the integrity of the judicial process In the Constitution of South Africa, Chapter 9 deals with State Institutions supporting Constitutional Democracy. Under section 194, Removal from Office it states the following; “(2) A resolution of the National Assembly concerning the removal from office of— (a) the Public Protector or the Auditor-General must be adopted […]
Originally the Constitutional Court was established as the final court on all constitutional matters. However, following the 17th amendment Act of 2012 it is now South Africa’s highest court on all matters. The Constitutional Court consists of the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice and nine other judges. Thus, the Court’s bench is supposed to […]
Watching the Judicial Service Commission interviews can give you great insight into the nature of a candidate as well as the judiciary and the JSC itself. As not everyone can attend the JSC interviews and watch them live, we record all the interviews and share the videos on our YouTube channel for you to watch. […]
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 read and most popular articles in 2017. 1. Malema’s questions for judges at the JSC interviews Posted: 14th March 2017 As one […]
The opportunity not to do something is as important as the chance to do something. This JSC has chosen to step back on making appointments to two leadership positions in the Northern Cape and the North West. In both instances the interviews of the candidates left a clear trail of clues as to why the […]
On the 25 July 2017, a host of women lawyers, researchers, students and other interested individuals gathered to discuss gender transformation in the public interest litigation sector. Facilitated by Charlene May from the Legal Resources Centre the panel included Seehaam Samaai of the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC), Ofentse Motlhasedi from the Black Workers Forum, Mimi […]
After Judge Mandisa Maya’s JSC interview for President of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) laid bare the racial and seniority divisions within the court, the interviews of Constitutional Court candidates – four of which are SCA judges – seemed to follow a similar theme of trying to examine and expose problems within the SCA. […]
As one of the more challenging individuals making up the 23 JSC members, Julius Malema seldom fails to disappoint the spectators at the JSC interviews with his knack for putting candidates in the hot seat. While other JSC commissioners will stick to more conventional lines of questioning, asking about a candidate’s work experience and their […]
“What’s the point of being near a school? What’s the point of them being near transport? Where are they going to go?” asked Acting Judge Leslie Weinkove, hearing an application regarding the emergency accommodation of the 27 people due to be evicted from houses in Bromwell St, Woodstock. His comments, as well as others about […]
Support Judges Matter!
Our commitment to bringing transparency to the judicial appointments process in South Africa comes with considerable costs.
Help us ensure that the Judges Matter live stream of the JSC interviews continues.
Make your contribution today!
