Judges should expect 'more and more' attacks – Zondo

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo warns the judiciary will have to brace itself for ‘more and more’ attacks in the future, reports Legalbrief. In a wide-ranging live interview on SABC, he said he was concerned about ongoing attacks by politicians. ‘I am very concerned. When I look at the future it's likely the judiciary will be attacked more and more,’ he said. However, as he has done previously, Zondo condemned accusations of judicial bias made without supporting evidence. ‘People make these accusations in order to make judges doubt themselves,’ he claimed. According to a Daily Maverick report, in a situation where a judge has previously ruled in favour of a particular party, Zondo said he feared that the atmosphere of public mistrust might lead that judge to worry: ‘If I find in favour of this party now (again), this perception that I am biased will be strengthened.’ Such concerns should never affect judicial reasoning, he said.

Zondo was also asked about perceptions that the judiciary is biased towards President Cyril Ramaphosa and what it was doing to counter this, notes Legalbrief. According to a report on the News24 site, Zondo said the best thing that the judiciary can do is act according to its oath of office and not do anything to fuel controversy. He stressed, however, that these accusations are often used in an effort to intimidate and bully judges. ‘Courts need to decide cases on the law and the evidence, rather than fear that they will get attacked for ruling in favour of a particular litigant. Anyone who has evidence that a judge is captured or biased must be dealt with by the appropriate structures.’ He conceded, though, that ‘the heads of court have been concerned about this matter.’ ‘When matters get dragged on for so many years it makes people question whether the justice system is working,’ he said.

The interview also touched on issues related to Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe and former President Jacob Zuma, observes Legalbrief. On the long-running Hlophe impeachment matter concerning his alleged attempt to persuade judges of the Constitutional Court to take Zuma’s side in a matter before the court, he said: ‘The issues have been resolved in a certain way, there is a decision by the tribunal that has been taken on review. It's not a headache but I am concerned about the length of time it took to get to a decision.’ On the much debated issue of the make-up of the JSC, Zondo said: ‘I would prefer that there were more judges than politicians. I would increase judges and decrease the number of politicians.’ Asked if he believed that the JSC may have overstepped its mandate when it recommended SCA President Mandisa Maya - whom he described as ‘my sister’ – for the post of Chief Justice, he declined to comment, but stressed future JSC interviews will be dealt with properly.