President of the Swaziland Law Society Paul Shilubane on Tuesday called for the reinstatement of the full powers of the Swaziland Judicial Service Commission under the Minister of Justice and Sapire.
He said Swazi law found itself in a ”quagmire” because the legal community had allowed the government to interfere in its operations.
He called on the government to take note of recommendations about to be made by the International Bar Association and the International Jurists Commission. The two organisations visited Swaziland after a crisis developed last year.
Matters came to a head when Swazi Prime Minister Sibusisu Dlamini said in a statement last month that he would ignore a judgement by the country’s Court of Appeal.
He also accused the court’s six South African judges of having been influenced by ”outside forces” in their judgment.
The judges strongly denied this and resigned. The country’s lawyers also went on strike in protest, bringing the courts to a standstill.
Swazi judges, led by Sapire, have since announced that they would continue in their posts and would judge without regard to pressures, threats or intimidation by the executive. – Sapa