ANC attacks on judiciary 'worrying' - law professor

'The independence of the judiciary is fundamental to our Constitution,' he said. Unterhalter linked the attacks to the fact that the ANC president, Jacob Zuma, was facing criminal charges, says a Daily News report. 'Because Zuma is faced with serious crimes and is meant to appear before the courts, there seems to be a concerted political campaign to insinuate the courts are in the political struggles over the succession to the presidency,' he said. Unterhalter said that ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe's statement was meant to imply that the judiciary may stand in the way of Zuma being President. It seemed some people were willing to undermine the Constitution in an effort to promote the interests of Zuma, he said. 'It is fundamental to our Constitution and our democracy that the judiciary must be upheld as an institution and not be undermined.' Full Daily News report

Mantashe switched his sights to other institutions yesterday, notably the Human Rights Commission, which he said would not be criticised if it was doing its job properly. He insinuated it was only concerned with 'minority rights', says a Beeld report. Addressing journalists in Cape Town yesterday on concerns about the ANC's attitude towards civil rights, media freedom, the Bench and Constitution, Mantashe apparently took the opportunity to slam the media regulator, calling the Press Council 'a joke'. He added concerns about the ANC's disregard for civil rights were unfounded, as it was the party that had fought for these rights. Full Beeld report

The International Bar Association's report on the judiciary recommends the urgent ratification of a code of conduct for judges. The code would ensure the country avoided the kind of controversy now surrounding the Constitutional Court and Cape Judge President John Hlophe, notes a report in The Times. The report, Beyond Polokwane: Safeguarding South Africa's Judicial Independence, released this week, summarises the work of the association's fact-finding mission to SA in May, which 'was prompted by concerns regarding potential threats to the independence of the judiciary' from several sectors of SA society, including the judiciary itself. The Times points put that in the Hlophe-Constitutional Court matter, both sides have levelled accusations of conduct unbecoming of judicial officers, but says what constitutes 'conduct unbecoming' is open to interpretation because there is no formal code of conduct for judges. Full report in The Times IBA report (PDF file)