/ 27 November 1998

Labour Court president to quit after

`snub’

Mungo Soggot

The Bar and the Bench were awash with speculation this week that Judge John Myburgh is to resign as president of the Labour Court and quit the judiciary after being snubbed for promotion by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

It is understood that Judge Myburgh, one of South Africa’s most respected judges, warned colleagues last weekend that he would resign and has already lined up another job.

Judge Myburgh declined to comment, but several judges and lawyers said they expected an announcement shortly.

Judge Myburgh is understood to have been deeply distressed by the outcome of last month’s watershed JSC hearings. The commission signalled that race had replaced experience as the most important factor determining promotion on the Bench and appointed two relatively junior black judges to top posts in the KwaZulu-Natal and Transvaal divisions.

Judge Myburgh was the favourite to become judge president of the Transvaal but was pipped by Judge Bernard Ngoepe, who has been on the Pretoria Bench since 1995.

Judge Myburgh’s departure would be the second resignation triggered by the controversial JSC decision. Another candidate for the Transvaal position was the deputy president of the Pretoria High Court, Piet van der Walt, who resigned shortly afterwards in what was interpreted as a protest against Judge Ngoepe’s selection.

Judge Myburgh sailed through his interview with the JSC, attracting praise for his widely acclaimed performance as head of the Labour Court. The Labour Court is considered one of the stars of the judicial system, and is one of the country’s most representative courts.

After the hearings, Minister of Justice Dullah Omar announced plans to split the Transvaal division, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, fuelling speculation that Judge Myburgh would be offered the presidency of the Johannesburg High Court. It is understood that two senior members of the JSC discussed the possibility of Judge Myburgh taking up the Johannesburg post shortly after the hearings.

But it is believed that Judge Myburgh subsequently learned that race would be a major factor in the selection of the incumbent for the post and that he might therefore be overlooked for the Johannesburg presidency as well. Judge Mohammed Navsa is now being tipped as a likely candidate for the Johannesburg judge presidency.

One senior advocate said of Judge Myburgh this week: “He is a superb administrator. He is utterly straight. He would have been prepared to soldier on had he got the recognition he deserved. His resignation is a watershed.”

After a long stint at the Bar, Judge Myburgh became an acting judge in 1988 and a permanent judge in 1991.