Cape Town — Chief Justice Raymond Zondo believes that the South African judiciary lacks full institutional independence, leading to crises that impede the judiciary’s efficiency.
He conveyed his thoughts during the Judges Conference at Sun City in Rustenburg in the North West, focusing on the theme “Towards a single, effective and fully independent judiciary”, as reported by SABC News.
According to Zondo, the judiciary faces challenges due to its lack of control over finances, the authority to appoint more judges, and decision-making power regarding the construction of additional courts. He emphasised the need for the judiciary to attain complete institutional independence to handle matters autonomously.
“The Executive seems not to be keen on allowing magistrates to be moved from the department of Justice to be under the office of the Chief Justice” Chief Justice Raymond Zondo
“This is a matter that was discussed with the executive by my predecessor Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng… pic.twitter.com/3Nz2FSxvoK
— News Live SA (@newslivesa) December 7, 2023
“That is not the position in South Africa, and that is part of the reason why we insist that there should be full institutional independence in South Africa so that we can handle certain matters ourselves that are presently handled by the executive. Very often we have got to go to the executive and say we need this we need that; it’s like we must go to them and beg. So, we need to have full institutional independence,” he stated.
Other Judge Presidents echoed Zondo’s concerns, highlighting the necessity for more judges’ appointments and providing judges with adequate resources for efficient and expeditious work.
“Conference noted the need for the appointment of more judges and for the capacitation of judges with adequate resources to enable us to do our work efficiently and expeditiously,” said Yasmin Meer, Acting Judge President of the Land Claims Court.
During the three-day conference, protection for judges and magistrates, considering the risks to their lives, was also discussed.
Chief Justice R M M Zondo has addressed the media on the resolutions of the 2023 Judges’ Conference. pic.twitter.com/26OX2cLXhn
— RSAJudiciary (@OCJ_RSA) December 7, 2023
According to MSN, Zondo thanked former president Jacob Zuma for establishing the Office of the Chief Justice during his term and challenged the Ramaphosa administration to complete the work initiated by Zuma.
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Picture: X/@OCJ_RSA
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
