Relationship with executive is good – Chief Justice

Langa said he believed judges had a healthy relationship with the government, and that those tensions that existed were normal and not unique to SA. He acknowledged that some judges bristled at what they believed was interference with their work and that they just wanted to be left alone to do their jobs. In reference to the Superior Courts Bill and a proposed constitutional amendment that has caused alarm bells to ring in the judiciary and the legal profession, while the government insists it is not a threat to their independence, he said: ‘I am not saying that there is no Bill (that threatens independence).’ Langa said he had to constantly remember that the independence of the judiciary and the separation of the powers were constitutional issues, and that one day he might find himself having to rule on the constitutionality of the very Bills that were the subject of present debate. The interview also touched on the series of rows affecting some of the most senior judges in the country and judges\' unhappiness over their remuneration. Full report in the Mercury (subscription needed)