President Jacob Zuma announced the names of new members of the Judicial Services Commission on Sunday.
The new members are advocates Ismael Semenya, Dumisa Ntsebeza, Vas Soni and Andiswa Ndoni, who replace George Bizos, Kgomotso Moroko,
Seth Nthai and John Ernstzen, who resigned on July 13.
Zuma expressed his appreciation to the outgoing members for their service to the country as members of the JSC, and wished them well in their responsibilities.
The JSC is sitting in Cape Town this week after Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe called for a postponement last month.
Radebe said he needed the postponement in order to consider issues of the independence and transformation of the judiciary.
Justice and Constitutional Development Ministry spokesperson Tlali Tlali said Radebe was now satisfied that all the issues he raised had been addressed.
The Democratic Alliance raised objections about Ndoni’s and Soni’s suitability and leader Helen Zille accused the ANC of trying to turn the JSC into a ”thinly disguised party instrument”.
The DA’s objection to Ndoni related to her support for Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, while it said Soni was too ‘executive-mindedâ€.
Judges Lebotsang ‘Ronnie†Bosielo, Ben Griesel, Eric Leach and Frans Malan — all turned away at the last minute at the last JSC meeting — were interviewed for three openings on the SCA.
Bosielo, who described his first acting term at the SCA as a ‘rude awakeningâ€, said it was ‘with the grace of God†that he had succeeded at the court so far.
‘There is a perception that the SCA is reactionary or retrogressive,†he said.
He said a serious paradigm shift was needed at the appeal court.
‘The other problem I have with the judiciary is progressive thinking,†said Bosielo.
He added that transformation was ‘multifaceted†and included a fusion of African legal concepts into the South African legal system.
At some point invoking statements by Zuma at the recent Judges Conference held in Pretoria
Bosielo said that indigenous law had to be developed to be on the same level as other branches of the law.
Although admitting that the issue of racial representation on the bench had to a certain extent been addressed, Bosielo said more work needed to be done when it comes to leadership positions by women on the bench.
Bosielo said the judiciary should not be alienated from the mainstream of South African society as this would raise questions about the institutions legitimacy.
He called for a new system of jurisprudence that had at its core, the ‘values of the peopleâ€.
He also praised the role played by the Constitutional Court in developing indigenous law and accused SCA judges of shying away from developing the law along constitutional lines.
Bosielo told the JSC he had played a key role in training magistrates, whom he said were ‘at the coalface of justiceâ€.