AGREEMENT in principle was reached on Monday between senior members of the judiciary and the government on fundamental changes to the structure and functioning of South African courts, Justice Minister Penuell Maduna said. Among other things, it was agreed that the head of the judiciary would be the head of the Constitutional Court, who would be the chief justice, he said. The chief justice would also chair the Judicial Service Commission and perform other constitutional and statutory functions currently divided between the president of the Constitutional Court and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal. The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal would not be merged and would continue as separate courts, Maduna added.