Bar threatens legal action over JSC appointment

A report in The Mercury notes that if it goes ahead with legal action - and wins - the litigation could effectively unseat a judge on the Western Cape High Court Bench. Members of the Cape Bar Council voted at their annual meeting yesterday to take formal legal advice on whether the decision by the JSC - when it selected Robert Henney to take up the position of judge in the court - could be taken to court to be reviewed and set aside. The Bar Council believes the JSC selection meeting was unconstitutional, as not all 13 members were present during the selection process. The Constitution states that the President of the SCA, or the deputy, must be present in the selection proceedings. Neither was. Bar Council chairperson Alasdair Sholto-Douglas said: 'We said to the JSC, 'Please give us an undertaking you won't go to President Zuma with your recommendations,' but they went to the President.' According to the report, the Bar council had said that it was 'deeply dismayed' that the JSC had filled only one of the three vacant posts, although there had been seven short-listed candidates. While it congratulated Henney, it said the JSC had failed to serve the interests of the legal profession and the public by rejecting outstanding candidates Michael Fitzgerald, Sven Olivier and Owen Rogers. Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)

The JSC has appealed for more women and black candidates to apply to become judges so that the judiciary can reflect SA's racial and gender composition. Releasing the names of the three women and eight men it had recommended to President Jacob Zuma for appointment as judges, the JSC reiterated that this was a concern, notes a report in The Citizen. 'This concern is illustrated by the fact that of the 31 candidates that were short-listed for the vacant positions, only nine were women,' the JSC said. The Constitution required it to give consideration to the judiciary's need to reflect broadly the racial and gender composition of SA when making judicial appointments. Full report in The Citizen

Meanwhile, former SA Human Rights Commission head Jody Kollapen was among those recommended for appointment as a judge in the High Courts in Johannesburg and Pretoria, according to a report on the News24 site, which details all the recommended appointments. It notes Kollapen already works as an acting judge. His name was on a list of recommendations the JSC forwarded to Zuma following interviews in Cape Town for vacancies in the SCA, Competition Appeal Court, Electoral Court and the various divisions of the High Court. Among the recommendations made - not all vacancies were filled - were Judge MJD Wallis for the SCA, Judge DH Zondi for the Competition Appeal Court, and Advocate MM Mthembu for the Electoral Court. Full report on the News24 site