Pretoria - Four of the country’s top judges will face gruelling interviews this week for the post of the country’s top judge.
The Judicial Service Commission will begin the interview process tomorrow, with Constitutional Court Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga in the spotlight.
Each candidate’s interview is scheduled to last for most of the day and will be broadcast live.
The panel will deliberate on the interviews on Saturday next week, which will be a closed session.
Second in the hot seat, on Wednesday, will be Supreme Court of Appeal Judge President Judge Mandisa Maya, followed by Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo. Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo will be the last to be interviewed on Friday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to later announce the chief justice based on the recommendations of the commission.
Judicial watchdog group Judges Matter said that for the first time in history, four exceptional candidates were in the running for the top post in the country’s judiciary.
It reported that a modern chief justice must first be an intellectual leader, able to lead a Constitutional Court that deals with weighty and complex issues, and produce high-quality judgments that are both impactful on the law and are persuasive to both judges and lawyers.
“The chief justice needs a reputation of utmost integrity and ethical conduct, as they will need it to foster ethics among judges and enforce the judicial code of conduct,” said judicial experts Chris Oxtoby and Mbekezeli Benjamin of Judges Matter.
According to them, the chief justice as head of the judiciary needs the administrative skills necessary to manage the Constitutional Court and the other institutions in the judiciary, such as the Judicial Service Commission and the Office of the Chief Justice, a national government department.
“The chief justice needs an independent mind, with a demonstrated commitment to the values of equality, dignity, freedom and human rights in the Constitution.
“The chief justice is the number one judge in SA and needs to be the judiciary’s chief diplomat, able to speak confidently for the judiciary in ways that promote the administration of justice, enhance the reputation of the judiciary and affirm the rule of law in SA and abroad,” they said.
Ramaphosa forwarded the commission a letter in November in which the four candidates were nominated and asked the body to consider their suitability for appointment as chief justice.
According to Judges Matters, the Constitution gives the president, as head of the executive arm of government, wide discretion on who to appoint as chief justice.
Ramaphosa decided to break with the past and follow a more open, consultative and competitive process for appointing the next head of the judiciary.
He called earlier for nominations from the public for who they would like to see take office as the next chief justice.
The term of former chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng ended on October 11 last year, although he had been on leave since May.
Pretoria News