Pretoria - Justice Mandisa Maya has promised to bring synergy between the superior and lower courts, defend the independence of the judiciary and push for the Office of the Chief Justice to be given full powers to manage the affairs of the courts if she’s appointed as Chief Justice.
Justice Maya, who is the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), rejected suggestions that appointing her would weaken the SCA, because she was doing a good job, saying such suggestions were “patronising”.
In responding to comments that suggest it would destabilise the SCA if she were to be moved to the ApexCourt, Justice Maya told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interview panel: “I and many other colleagues find it most patronising and even patriarchal”.
She said to her mind, it implied that she led a bunch of incompetent judges who “would fall in a helpless heap if I left the SCA”.
Justice Maya said the SCA is staffed with capable judges and it does not lack skill nor leadership. She is the second of four short-listed candidates to be interviewed to head the Constitutional Court.
Justice Maya has been president of the SCA since 2017 and was deputy of that court since 2015. She successfully led the SCA through a difficult transition and she also led the transition to online hearings for the Appeal Court during hard lockdown.
Justice Maya told Justice Xola Petse, who is chairing the JSC interviews, that her vision and wish list for the judiciary is long and included one single judiciary – from the apex court to the lower courts.
In responding to a question by Judge President Pule Tlaletsi on whether the country was ready for a female Chief Justice, she responded: “We are just as capable as men.”
Justice Maya rejected suggestions that appointing her as Chief Justice would be tantamount to bringing someone in from the cold, since she is not from within the ranks of the Constitutional Court. She said, by contrast, it was an advantage because she would bring “fresh” perspectives.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola remarked that he got the sense that Justice Maya was standing on her credentials and that she was simply shortlisted as a candidate because she is a woman.
Justice Maya said her candidacy was not a gender issue: “I agree. I am not good because I am a woman. “I am a good woman judge.”
In listing her attributes, Justice Maya said she was initially recommended to serve on the bench – not only for her legal skills, but also for her honesty and integrity.
On the issue of the relationship between the judiciary and the media, Justice Maya said she was a proponent of the old school of thought that judges must speak through their judgments rather than pronounce on policy positions simply because they enjoy freedom of speech and expression.
She also said gender diversity was very important to her, and of the 23 judges serving in the SCA, 11 are women.
Justice Maya said she has delivered on the promises she had made when she was appointed as head of the SCA five years ago and she has changed that division for the better.
If appointed as Chief Justice, she said “the first order of business” will be to hold a meeting with all the heads of courts to address various issues.
“A Chief Justice and heads of courts are not the bosses of anyone, but there is great wealth in a lekgotla,” she said.
Justice Maya said while there is a delay in judgments from the ConCourt and that this will be a challenge, there is hope to turn things around.
“It seems from my observation that firm leadership and a steady case flow management is the cure. She added that she had ideas on how things could be improved based on her experience at the SCA and by implementing the methods she is using.
“All we need is good administration and smart working,” she said.
Justice Maya also expressed her concern about recent surveys showing a decline in trust in the courts and said this called for introspection.
She also highlighted problems faced by the magistrate’s courts which at this stage fall under the department of justice. The SCA president said she would push for them to be brought under the Office of the Chief Justice, which she would capacitate. “I would bring both judges and magistrates under one roof,” she said
Judge Maya also acknowledged that access to justice for many people, especially those living in the rural areas, was still a huge problem.
She said bringing justice closer to the people was something in the pipeline.
Other issues of concern, she said, included the fact that the judiciary does not have an anti-sexual harassment and a maternity leave policy. She said she was the first woman to have fallen pregnant while serving on the bench and the judiciary had no idea what to do with her.
Justice Maya is not new to the Concourt. She served as an acting judge of the Constitutional Court in 2012 but has never served as a permanent judge of that court.
While she did apply for a permanent position, it was given to Judge Raymond Zondo at the time. But she said while serving at the ConCourt she enjoyed the intellectual rigour and the collegiality.
Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo is next on the hot seat today.
Pretoria News