JSC's ConCourt debate at time of tension

This week’s JSC interviews for a Constitutional Court post – four women judges are vying for the position – come at a time of heightened tension between the judiciary and the executive, sparked by the government ignoring a court order barring Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from leaving SA, notes a Sunday Times report. It says the ANC-led tripartite alliance, which concluded a summit in Pretoria last week, added fuel to the fire when, in one of its resolutions, it raised concerns about the ‘emerging trend, in some quarters, of judicial over-reach’. Commentators quoted in the Sunday Times say the process to appoint Constitutional Court judges deserved much public scrutiny, with Alison Tilley, of the Judges Matter Coalition, arguing the process was more political than other appointments to the judiciary. Tabeth Masengu, a researcher at the University of Cape Town’s Democratic Governance and Rights Unit, said: ‘It is going to come down to who the President is receiving advice or counsel from and this is the way that appointments have been set up.’ Professor Hugh Corder, of UCT’s department of public law, said: ‘The Constitutional Court is involved in matters of great public interest which are broadly political matters. It is therefore appropriate that the President has a choice in who is appointed.’ The other side of this argument, which Corder believes is ‘valid’, questions why the President is given so much discretion for this appointment. ‘The separation of powers is an intricate government mechanism . . . the most critical thing is that each branch of government should respect the other mutually,’Corder is quoted as saying.

Full Sunday Times report (subscription needed)