Recommendation of the position of Chief Justice
9 February 2022
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) notes that the President of the Republic of South Africa augmented the process for the nomination of the Chief Justice by accepting nominations from the public and having an independent committee to shortlist the candidates. The LSSA supports this initiative in the interest of transparency.
This deviates from the previous appointment when former President Jacob Zuma only submitted the name of Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng as the sole nominee.
The LSSA participated in the nomination process, Justice Mandisa Maya, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, was one of our nominees.
Section 174(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa requires the President as head of the National Executive to appoint the Chief Justice after consulting the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the leaders of parties represented in the National Assembly.
The LSSA accepts that the JSC is structured as per the Constitution of South Africa and is part of a democratic process. Because people of different political parties, careers and walks of life are represented in the JSC, there are bound to be passionate differences in approach and exchanges during meetings and interviews. The LSSA, however, takes note of the severe criticism in the media and on social platforms as to the procedures followed and the nature of the questions put to the various candidates, unfortunately, not all without merit. We urge the JSC to put proper procedures in place as it is empowered to do in terms of s 178(6) of the Judicial Service Commission Act 9 of 1994. A repetition of this perceived behaviour and lack of direction should, in the future, be avoided.
The LSSA is delighted that the JSC has recommended Justice Maya to the President as its preferred candidate. We are aware that the President is not bound by this recommendation and await his final decision with interest.
Issued by Jan van Rensburg, President, Law Society of SA, 9 February 2022
