Hlophe argues ConCourt may have compromised JSC

Along with the media leaks which he placed at the court's door, Hlophe said, the judges had created a parallel 'court of public opinion', which like any 'lynching mob', sometimes succeeded in clouding the vision of those who must sit in judgment of the issues. In his 71-page response to the Constitutional Court's claims against him, Hlophe said there appeared to be 'in the office of the chief justice, a method of unseemly informing the public through well-orchestrated media leaks'. A daily newspaper appeared to have inadvertently 'outed' the court as its source, by posting a copy of its 21-page complaint, accompanied by an unsigned covering letter from Chief Justice Pius Langa on a Constitutional Court letterhead. Hlophe said he found it difficult to understand why the JSC 'feigns this concern about media leaks, when it should be looking no further than the Constitutional Court itself for the sources of these unauthorised leaks'. Full Cape Times report (subscription needed) Hlophe's full response to Constitutional Court allegations (PDF file)

Hlophe also says it will be 'a sad day' when views expressed to colleagues in their chambers are reduced to impeachable conduct. 'It is very disturbing that a conversation conducted in chambers with other judges is now a judicial transgression which can legitimately trigger the process under section 177 of the Constitution,' he states in his 71-page reply seeking to refute the Constitutional Court's complaint of gross misconduct in approaching two judges in the Zuma matter. In his affidavit, published yesterday in Legalbrief Today, Hlophe acknowledges that judges should be independent and impartial and are obliged to pursue their duties without fear or favour. 'I believe that our judges have all these qualities, but between them, there must be an intellectual interaction that can only fortify the sense of independence. I do not think a judge should be over-sensitive and shy away from hearing a robust view of a colleague, but still maintain the independence of thought and intellect.' According to a Cape Argus report, he said that to elevate judicial interaction of this nature to misconduct for impeachment purposes would weaken the judiciary. Full Cape Argus report

A desperate attempt to save his own reputation: That's how Hlophe's allegations that Langa and his deputy, Judge Dikgang Moseneke, were politically motivated in spearheading the Constitutional Court's complaint against him are described by North West University law academic, Professor Tom Coetzee. A report in Beeld quotes Coetzee as saying it is a good start that Hlophe admits talking to Judges Bess Nkabinde and Chris Jafta. 'The bottom line is that Hlophe's allegations are unconvincing. Nobody who knows the Bench of the Constitutional Court and specifically the two leading judges will believe it,' Coetzee said. Full Beeld report