Many South African judges are notoriously prickly about the need to undergo further judicial education. Despite the fact that Parliament passed the South African Judicial Education Institute Act in 2008, the Institute has not yet trained any judges or aspirant judges and it is unclear when it will start its work in earnest. Yet most [...]
Posts under ‘Hlophe’
Its all a matter of credibility
Members of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) who read the founding affidavit of Freedom Under Law (FUL) in their application to set aside the decision of the JSC not to properly investigate the complaint of gross misconduct against Judge President John Hlophe, would be hard pressed not to feel ashamed.
Whatever the legal merits of the case [...]
Why the Rule of Law is not only important for the rich
Justice Johan Kriegler has been vilified by some because his organisation, Freedom Under Law (FUL), decided to challenge the decision of the Judicial Services Commission not to investigate the charges against Judge President John Hlophe. Kriegler argued that it was necessary to take this action in order to defend the Rule of Law. If even [...]
JSC, Minister doth protest too much
When Justice Minister Jeff Radebe (that guy who masterminded the scandalous decision of the JSC not to investigate the complaints of gross misconduct against John Hlophe because it feared that a real investigation would have to lead to the impeachment of Hlophe) gave a speech yesterday at the farewell for five justices of the Constitutional [...]
Why John Hlophe will not be appointed
I am going to stick my neck out and predict that Judge President John Hlophe will NOT be appointed to the Constitutional Court. There are, of course, many valid and cogent reasons why Judge President John Hlophe should not be appointed to the Constitutional Court. There are also many valid reasons for believing that independent [...]
On silence, patronising interventions and the duty to speak out
Ken Owen, the sharp-tongued commentator who used to edit the Sunday Times, has been having a fascinating argument about the Hlophe debacle with various other white commentators in the pages of Business Day. His argument is essentially that white people should shut up about the raping of the Rule of Law by the JSC, because if [...]
How to defend the indefensible
This morning I unexpectedly found myself on E-TV, once again debating Mr Paul Ngobeni. (The producers failed to inform me of Mr Ngobeni’s presence.) The topic was – once again – whether it was wise to launch a legal challenge against the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) decision not to investigate the complaints by John Hlophe [...]
Mowbray, Kaap IS scary – if you are black
Much has been said about the decision by the Canadian Refugee Board to grant refugee status to ex water sprinkler salesman, Brandon Huntley. But I think I might have another question to ask about this sorry affair. Would the Refugee Board have come to the decision it did if it allowed for a full hearing [...]
Where was Zille?
Should Helen Zille have been part of the JSC committee who decided not to proceed to a full hearing in the matter between Judge President John Hlophe and the judges of the Constitutional Court? A clever and alert reader of this Blog thinks so – and I agree. This would mean the JSC was unlawfully [...]
On acting “arbitrarily and capriciously”
It seems as if Judge President John Hlophe and the judges of the Constitutional Court are not off the hook yet. Just when Hlophe thought he had yet again (and against all legal odds) escaped impeachment, former Constitutional Court judge Johann Kriegler announced an intention to legally challenge the decision by the Judicial Services Commission [...]
