Recent media reports that the South African judiciary is being undermined have no basis, says President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Motlanthe said this on Friday during his keynote address to judges from 93 countries at the first-ever World Conference on Constitutional Justice that is being held in Cape Town this weekend.
The Constitutional Court of South Africa in partnership with the Venice Commission is hosting the conference, which is being attended by chief justices and presidents of supreme courts from around the world.
The Venice Commission, which is also known as the European Commission for Democracy Through Law, was formed in 1990 and is an advisory body to the Council of Europe on constitutional issues.
”Recent assertions in the local and international media that the judiciary is being undermined are untrue and without basis,” Motlanthe said.
He added that there was a ”necessary debate” and ”contestation” taking place in the country regarding the balance of power between the judiciary and the other two arms of government.
”Sometimes this debate can get a little heated. We, however, feel that this debate is essentially beneficial to our fledgling democracy, which is being deepened as a result,” said Motlanthe.
One of the challenges facing South Africa, Motlanthe said, is that of finding a common understanding of what judicial independence means.
He added that a similar challenge exists in relation to the ”boundaries of the separation of powers” between the judiciary and the other two arms of government.
”In South Africa the Constitution and the interests of society are the primary guiding factors to be taken into account in the process of easing and normalising tensions,” he said.
He added that the challenge around finding a balance in this tension is particularly important for South Africa as the executive, which he heads, is tasked with the role of transforming a country that has a history of ”discrimination, oppression, inequality and poverty”.
Motlanthe lauded the role of Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in the appointment of judges and said this marks a ”radical break with the past” where judges served at the pleasure of a president.
”I have learned from some our judges that the South African system of judicial appointments, like our Constitution, is exemplary and compares well with the best in the world,” he said.
However, Motlanthe said challenges still exist in changing the attitudes of some judicial officers, ”not just with regard to race and gender, but also with regard to the less privileged members” of South African society.