Newly appointed Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe has said controversial legislation to accelerate transformation of the judiciary will be fast-tracked this year.
The Bills in question caused an uproar after they were gazetted in December 2005, coming under fire from figures such as advocate George Bizos and former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson. Bizos described the Bills as a “first step towards another epic battle” between the legislature and the judiciary.
The Bills were eventually shelved after an intervention from former president Thabo Mbeki.
Speaking to the Mail & Guardian in his Cape Town office after concluding his three-day “induction” into the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Radebe said new impetus would be given to pieces of legislation meant to accelerate the pace of the transformation of the judiciary.
He said he had spoken to various judge presidents and indicated his eagerness to reintroduce the Superior Court Bill and the 14th Constitutional Amendment Bill.
The Bills were first proposed in 2005 by former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla, who said at the time they “lie at the core of the transformation of the judiciary”.
Radebe said he had told the judge presidents that he needed “speed on some of these issues. We are going to be ensuring that on those aspects where there is no debate we will move with speed to implement them and on those that require consultation I will consult with them. But at the end of the day we need to move on these matters.”
Radebe was this week accused of trying to interfere in the process of appointing judges after he requested that the JSC postpone the interviewing of candidates for the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
He denied this, saying: “If they read the statement that was issued by advocate Marumo Moerane [of the JSC] they will understand that that perception is not founded on fact.”
The statement said the minister requested the postponement pending consideration of the “vital question of the transformation of the judiciary” and that the JSC wished all new members to be inducted into JSC processes before turning to the SCA appointments.
The Bills Radebe wants to fast-track would put the administration of the courts under the department of justice — which critics have said is a threat to the independence of the judiciary.
The Bills also propose that the Constitutional Court be the apex court in all matters, not only constitutional ones. This proposal, which was endorsed at the ANC’s Polokwane conference, would see the SCA become an intermediary court or a separate appeal chamber within the Constitutional Court regime.
Although insisting that the Bills will be adopted in 2009, Radebe said he could be persuaded on some of the details. “I’ve got an open mind on this issue [of the administration of the courts]. I need to understand the arguments both from the executive and from the judiciary but, having been minister of public works from 1994 to 1999, I appreciate the challenges of user departments having responsibility for day-to-day management of their buildings and stuff like that,” he said.
Another Bill seeks to create one regulatory body for attorneys and advocates. The profession operates in terms of different associations, some dating from before 1994 and some formed after. It is this state of affairs that has often led to the split along racial lines within the profession, legal observers have said.
“It is one of the Bills that will be coming this year,” Radebe said. “I am willing to discuss with all affected parties in the legal profession as part of the consultation, but there is no debate that it will go through in 2009.”
Radebe called on all South Africans to engage in a “revolutionary” process of living up to the values in the Constitution and said that he would pay attention to the area of constitutional development. He was “shocked” to discover that there was a budget of only R11-million to help make the Constitution a living document for all South Africans.