Chief Justice's withdrawal: Appropriate action could have prevented grave loss to the judiciary

Today, at a cabinet briefing, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe announced that Chief Justice Sandile Ncgobo has withdrawn his acceptance of an extension of his term. The Chief Justice indicated that he had taken this decision in order to protect the integrity of the judiciary, as he felt it was undesirable for him to be a party in litigation involving him.

When the issue of the extension first arose, I said at the time that it was intolerable to put the Chief Justice in this position by (a) extending his term by Presidential discretion under the Judges' Remuneration Act; and (b) creating a situation whereby civil society organisations challenged the Act.

In order to prevent such a situation from unfolding, I proposed two possible laws during a Justice Portfolio Committee meeting on 14 June. Unfortunately, the ANC turned both these proposals down, and the contentiousness continued.

Minister Radebe has been unforgivably slow in acting on this matter - I have been prompting action since late last year to ensure the retention of the Chief Justice, who is doing such important work at this point. He is a true judicial leader, and the fact that he has withdrawn to protect the integrity of the bench further proves it. We have lost someone who has the administrative, policy-making and leadership skills we need for the new legal era, shortly to be legislated under the 17th Constitution Amendment and Superior Courts Bills. This grave loss is made all the worse by the fact that it could have been prevented, had the appropriate action been taken in time.

Statement issued by Dene Smuts MP, DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, July 27 2011

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