Legislation relating to judicial conduct and ethics, and a mechanism for dealing with complaints about judges, was unanimously approved in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Introducing debate on the Judicial Service Commission Amendment Bill, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Brigitte Mabandla said recent controversial incidents regarding alleged indiscretions by members of the judiciary had highlighted the lack of a credible legal framework in terms of which such matters could be dealt with.
The Bill established a judicial conduct committee as a committee of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), chaired by the chief justice and comprising only judges, to deal with complaints against judges.
The chair would be the first port of call for lodging complaints about a judge, she said.
Frivolous or hypothetical complaints, or those related to a judgement — a matter that could be taken on appeal or review — would be rejected out of hand.
If there was substance to a complaint, the chair or a member of the committee could conduct an investigation and, if necessary, a hearing, and dispose of the matter.
But if a valid complaint could lead to a finding of incapacity, gross misconduct or gross incompetence, the committee had to refer the matter to the JSC, along with a recommendation that the appointment of a judicial conduct tribunal be considered to investigate the matter formally.
Turning to the disclosure of assets by judges, Mabandla said this was an established practice in a number of developed countries.
The Bill provided for a register of judges’ registrable interests, in which judges had to disclose their financial or other interests, as to be defined in regulations.
Such a procedure would promote the perceived independence of judges from undue influences and also provide a framework for regulating the financial interests that, in accordance with contemporary norms, was acceptable for judges to maintain.
”Again, recent controversies have underscored the value of a system of registering judges’ financial interests,” she said.
The Bill further provided that a judge, whether on active service or discharged from active service, could not hold any other ”office of profit” or receive payment for any service not payable in his or her capacity as a judge, subject to certain exceptions.
The legislation went to the heart of protecting the independence, impartiality and dignity of the courts.
It was aimed at building and enhancing public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary, while also introducing an essential component of judicial accountability, underscoring the fact that the courts and the judiciary were not on a distant pedestal but an integral and inseparable part of South African society, Mabandla said. — Sapa