Controversial draft legislation aimed at overhauling the structure of the judiciary has indeed been shelved as the Mail & Guardian reported at the end of June, despite furious denials by the Department of Justice at the time.
After last weekend’s Cabinet lekgotla, President Thabo Mbeki told reporters that the government believed it would be better to reach an agreement nationally on issues affecting the judiciary.
“This is why we requested Parliament … to suspend its own discussion on these Judicial Bills,” Mbeki said. He said a White Paper would be drafted “to bring everybody into discussion about those issues”.
Mbeki said some matters relating to the legislation would go forward, while others would be held in abeyance pending discussion arising from the White Paper.
He said the White Paper, to be tabled in Cabinet in the coming months, was intended to initiate public discourse on substantive aspects relating to the transformation of the judiciary.
The M&G had reported that formal consideration of the Bills had been suspended, and would not recommence until they were redrafted . The draft Constitution 14th Amendment Bill was likely to be scrapped entirely.
This followed a local and international outcry. Proposals to hand full control of administrative functions to the justice minister were condemned as undermining judicial independence.
The shelving of the bills was widely seen as a slap in the face for Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de Lange.
Justice Ministry spokesperson Zolile Nqayi condemned the M&G’s report as “sensational and false”. He said there was “absolutely no truth in the assertion that President Mbeki has intervened and stopped the formal consideration of the said Bills”.
“The judicial Bills are still being considered and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will continue to interact with the judiciary on them,” Nqayi said.
This week, an embarrassed Nqayi told the M&G that at the time the article was published it was not correct to say Mbeki had intervened.
“The decision had not yet been made that a broader framework discussion was needed for the legislation. It was only made at the lekgotla,” he said.