Casac fears JSC process is duplication

As the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) prepares to interview four candidates for the position of chief justice early next year, a nongovernmental organisation is concerned the commission may be repeating work already done by an advisory panel appointed by the president.

As the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) prepares to interview four candidates picked for the position of chief justice early next year, a non-government organisation is concerned the commission may be repeating work already done by an advisory panel appointed by the president.

For the first time in SA’s history, four candidates running for chief justice will be publicly interviewed before the president appoints the new top judge. The interviews have been scheduled from February 1 to 5 2022.

“We don’t think that the JSC is justified in running an entire process from scratch especially with the timelines that they have now given,” said Dan Mafora, research officer for the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution (Casac).

Mafora claimed the JSC was being “formalistic and proceduralist” when it was urgent that Ramaphosa settle on a permanent appointee to lead SA’s courts.

Mafora predicted the earliest Ramaphosa might appoint a new leader would be March. He was alarmed at the JSC timeline for interviews, after which it will table a report over which the president will deliberate before running his choice by political party leaders and ultimately appointing SA’s new top judge.

The JSC has asked the four to complete a questionnaire and submit documents it requires of all candidates hoping to be appointed as judges. Deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, Supreme Court of Appeal president Mandisa Maya, Gauteng judge president Dunstan Mlambo and Constitutional Court judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga must submit this information by December 10.

The JSC will invite the law bodies, members of the public and all other interested institutions to make written submissions to it on the suitability of the president’s nominees for appointment as the chief justice. They should also submit any other information they deem to be relevant, it said.

Ramaphosa sent the four names to the JSC two weeks ago. His referrals form part of a process unique to that taken by his predecessors; Ramaphosa invited the public to nominate candidates and appointed an advisory panel to counsel him. The panel sent the president a long-list of eight names.

The JSC is a constitutional body responsible for choosing almost all judges in SA and handling allegations of misconduct against them. Its 23 members include judges, legal professionals and politicians.

The interviews will take place in Gauteng. Once they are concluded, the JSC will submit a report advising Ramaphosa on its views. The final decision remains the prerogative of the president, who is required by the constitution to consult the JSC and political party leaders.