ANC CHIEF WHIP'S OFFICE ON JUSTICE NGCOBO'S DECISION

The Office of the ANC Chief in Parliament accepts with regret the decision by Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo to withdraw his acceptance of the extension of his term of office. We appreciate his selfless decision, which was made in the interest of the integrity of the office of the Chief Justice and the judiciary.

The country indeed owes Justice Ngcobo a great deal of gratitude for the remarkable contribution he has made to South Africa's justice system, particularly the landmark transformation programmes he initiated to entrench the independence of the judiciary.

It is, in our view, questionable whether the decision by the parties responsible to mount a Concourt challenge was taken in good faith. No similar legal challenges were taken when the same process was followed previously regarding the extension of the terms of office for former Justices Arthur Chaskalson and Pius Langa.

We wish to reaffirm President Jacob Zuma's correctness in his decision to extend Justice Ngcobo's term of office, as provided for by Section 8A of the Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act. The Act, which was passed by Parliament and has never been declared unconstitutional by any court, outlines the process for the execution of Section 176 of the Constitution.

As a consequence of Justice Ngcobo's decision, Parliament will suspend its special sitting of the National Assembly scheduled for next week Tuesday. The sitting would have approved amendments to the section in the Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act dealing with terms of office of the Chief Justice.

Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, Parliamentary Caucus of the ANC, July 28 2011

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