Minister rejects Chief Justices pleas on judicial Bills
The stand-off between the government and judiciary over legislation thought to infringe on the independence of judges took another turn yesterday when Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla rejected a plea from Chief Justice Pius Langa for the controversial areas to be removed from the contested Bills.
Langa, in a presentation to Parliaments Justice Committee two weeks ago, appealed for the contested clauses to be removed from the Superior Courts Bill and the Constitution 12th Amendment Bill so that the urgently needed transitional aspects of the Bills could go ahead, notes a report in Business Day. Mabandla, who has consistently insisted the Bills do not infringe on the independence of the judiciary, said she could not see the sense in removing the controversial elements because the essence of the Bills was precisely about these issues. Her deputy Johnny de Lange agreed, saying it was not do-able. Full Business Day report