Section 174 (2) of the Constitution of South Africa, which may be referred to as the “transformation clause” stipulates that the need for the judiciary to “reflect broadly the racial and gender composition of South Africa must be considered” when judges are appointed. The contentious nature of the provision was captured in a question that […]
Article 12(2) of the Code of Judicial Conduct for South African Judges states that; “A judge must, upon permanent appointment, immediately sever all professional links and recover speedily all fees and other amounts outstanding and organise his or her personal business affairs to minimise the potential for conflicts of interest.” But what does ‘upon permanent […]
South Africa has a remarkably extensive civil society sector, ranging from small to large, complex organisations with sizeable staff and budgets. Before 1994, many organisations worked to end apartheid. In the post-apartheid era, some NGOs seem to have continued with the role of being watch dogs, playing oversight role on the government while others function […]
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 […]
On Thursday, 6 April 2017, the Judicial Service Commission interviewed four candidates for the position of Judge President of the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court. The candidates were Judge M Makaula, Judge Z M Nhlangulela, Judge J E Smith, and Judge D Van Zyl. The current Judge President of the Eastern Cape, Themba […]
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. […]
The South African court system is made up of one Constitutional Court, one Supreme Court of Appeal, 13 High Courts, one Labour Court, one Labour Appeal Court, one Competition Appeal Court, one Electoral Court and one Land Claims Court. The court and judiciary are overseen by the Chief Justice: currently Judge Mogoeng Mogoeng who has […]
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 […]
It was reported on Sunday, 5 March 2017, that the ANC wants its deployees on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to re-look at the “appointment criteria” used to decide who becomes a judge. In discussion documents, which have now been made public, the party is reported to want; “judges with a progressive philosophy and who […]
