Freedom Under Law comments on JSC proceedings
8 February 2022
The Judicial Service Commission’s performance last week has left its reputation in tatters. Freedom Under Law has little to add to the resultant chorus of well-directed criticism, not only of the meeting but of the composition of the body. We do, however, want to draw attention to a particular feature of the proceedings as a whole.
The meeting was held for a special purpose. The Constitution requires the President to consult the JSC when considering the appointment of the Chief Justice. President Ramaphosa accordingly consulted the JSC as to the fitness for that office of four senior judges. That the JSC, in ostensible compliance with the request, then conducted a four-day public embarrassment is regrettable (though hardly surprising).
What was indeed surprising was the deft manipulation of the whole process, principally by the two members about whose participation Freedom Under Law had cautioned at the outset. Warning lights flickered soon enough, when Justice Madlanga was asked, wholly irrelevantly to his own fitness for appointment, to comment on the propriety of his colleague Justice Zondo’s conduct in convening a media conference in response to a minister’s remarks about the judiciary – thus seeking to discredit Justice Zondo in advance of his own interview.
A calculated strategy became evident when manifestly friendly and supportive questions were addressed to Justice Maya and, in stark contrast, Judge Mlambo was grilled so crudely that the chairperson admonished Mr Malema for his aggressive manner and tone. It became all the more plain that Justice Maya was the favoured candidate and two strong contenders had to be knocked out, or at least materially handicapped.