Protest at the degraded process that was the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) recent interviews for the Chief Justice position has been unscrupulously represented as opposition to the possible appointment of Justice Mandisa Maya as Chief Justice.
This is not true. It bears repeating that all four candidates are jurists of distinction and we at the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) recognise that the path to this point for Justice Maya in particular – as a woman in a notoriously sexist profession – must have been harder still than for her male counterparts.
But none of the candidates were served by a corrupted process. And those in whose service the JSC’s powers are required to be exercised – the South African public – were spectacularly let down.
Far from being able to observe a process intended to probe the fitness and suitability of the four judges for position at the helm of the judiciary, the public was instead subjected to a spectacle that was both irrational and unfair. For example:
It has been noted by many that the JSC’s recent interview process is an unprecedented one. The Constitution affords the President the power to appoint the Chief Justice of this country, having consulted with the JSC and leaders of parties in the National Assembly. The President’s establishment of this recent elaborate process was presumably in order to enhance the exercise of his powers to appoint the next Chief Justice. But far from enhancing the exercise of his powers, regard for last week’s interviews and the conduct demonstrated there can only detract from the authority of his decision.
Moreover, whoever is appointed Chief Justice as a result of a process of which these interviews form part will be handed a poisoned chalice. The debasement of the interview process, the abuse of the JSC’s powers and role, the shameful conduct of certain JSC commissioners means that whoever assumes the post of Chief Justice would begin her or his tenure denied the full confidence of the public.
Nicole Fritz
nicole@hsf.org.za
Chelsea Ramsden
chelsea@hsf.org.za