Bill puts judges at Minister\'s mercy - Leon

The President would also have far more power to appoint Judges President, effectively cutting out the Judicial Service Commission. The report quotes him as saying that although the system of appointing judges in SA is not \'as good as it could be\', appointments to the post of Judge President would be handled almost completely by a politician, if the government had its way. Judges would have very little say in the appointments. One of the most critical powers of a Judge President is to decide which judge tries which case. \'The implications of this power become great in a situation such as that which the courts are faced with in the trials of (former Deputy President) Jacob Zuma,\' Leon said. Full Mail & Guardian Online report

Concern over judicial independence in raised in an editorial in the Sunday Times. It says \'the major issue of contention between the judges and the government is this: whether the constitutional amendment and the other proposals undermine the independence of the judiciary and infringe on the separation of power. The judges have warned that both are likely results of the drafts, which include a plan to change the Constitution by dividing power and responsibility between the Chief Justice and the Cabinet minister responsible for Justice. The government says this change will protect and clarify the boundaries; the judiciary claims that whoever is in charge of administration and the budget has the real power. \' The editorial notes the Cabinet appears determined to push these Bills through, and points out that the final arbiters of whether the proposed legislation squares with constitutional principles will be the judges of the Constitutional Court. It concludes: \'They and the rest of the judiciary should maintain cool heads so that, when the matter comes to the test, no one will be able to say that the judges are biased in favour of anything — other than the rights of the people as expressed in the Constitution. \' Full Sunday Times editorial

Meanwhile, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies has called for an extended period of comment on the Bills. In a statement at the weekend, it called on \'the chair of the Justice Portfolio Committee to initiate a process of public participation by providing for written and verbal submissions, as well as an adequate time period for these\'. It added: \'Although the Committee always welcomes submissions in its work, it is important that this process is an open and public one that complies with the spirit of the process for constitutional amendments.\' Full CALS statement on the Legalbrief Today site See a question and answer interview on the issue with Justice Director-General Menzi Simelane on the Mail & Guardian Online site (subscription needed)