Opposition leader Tony Leon on Friday criticised the African National Congress government’s attempts to ”place the judiciary under executive control”.
In his weekly newsletter, Leon said the 14th Constitution Amendment Bill would, if passed, give ”power over the administration and budgets of courts to the minister of justice, effectively putting judges at her mercy”.
The president would also have far more power to appoint judges president, effectively cutting out the Judicial Service Commission.
He said although the system of appointing judges in South Africa is not ”as good as it could be”, appointments to the post of judge president would be handled almost completely by a politician, if the government had its way. Judges would have very little say in the appointments.
One of the most critical powers of a judge president is to decide which judge tries which case.
”The implications of this power become great in a situation such as that which the courts are faced with in the trials of [former deputy president] Jacob Zuma,” Leon said.
The amendment Bill would also curtail the role of the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA).
”This is worrying, given that the SCA has shown greater independence from the executive and that the government has tried to circumvent it in the recent past.”
Leon said interference with judicial independence could have serious consequences for the country.
”After all, it is both the perception and the reality of a strong and independent bench that separates South Africa from so many other developing countries looking for … foreign investment.”
Leon accused the government of being devious in setting the period for public comment on the amendment Bill over the Christmas holidays. Few judges were apparently aware of the deadline for comment, which was January 15, ”and few had the opportunity to review the proposed legislation”.
”The government appears to have behaved deviously, and has revealed its true contempt for judicial independence,” Leon said. — Sapa