Johnathan Paoli
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has called on members of the judiciary to put their heads together and find ways to improve the country’s legislative arm.
Zondo was speaking at the Judges Conference on Tuesday in Sun City, in the North West, under the theme: “Towards a single, effective and fully independent Judiciary”.
Chief Justice Zondo said it was important that the delegates used the conference as an opportunity to highlight issues that have been preventing them from executing their duties to the best of their abilities.
“We must make sure that in the fourth decade of our democracy and beyond, we do not repeat the mistakes that we’ve made in the past 30 years. And as a country, I’m not speaking about the judiciary, there are many mistakes that have been made,” Zondo said.
The forum includes the top presiding officers from the 10 High Court divisions, the Labour and Labour Appeal Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, Electoral Court, Land Claims Court, Competition Appeal Court, the Constitutional Court and the Magistrate’s Courts.
Zondo said he expected the three-day conference to provide Judges and Magistrates with a platform to, among others, reflect on Judicial independence, as well as discuss issues pertaining to efficiencies in the court system, resourcing and capacitation of the Judiciary, as well as judicial accountability, integrity and ethical conduct of Judicial Officers.
Earlier this month Zondo described the sentencing of former president Jacob Zuma by the Constitutional Court in 2021 as the judiciary’s greatest test to date and questioned the repercussions of the former president avoiding jail following his release on medical parole.
Casac executive secretary Lawson Naidoo said judges were expected to stay clear of political controversy and everyday partisan politics and to carry out their judicial function impartially and without fear or favour.
“The Code of Judicial Conduct requires judges to ‘not publicly comment on the merits of any case pending before, or determined by, that judge or any other court’ and to ‘not express views in a manner which may undermine the standing and integrity of the judiciary’,” said Naidoo.
Naidoo said Zondo’s comments could be perceived as wading into public discourse about partisan politics and potentially bringing his impartiality (and that of his colleagues) into question at a time of fierce political contestation ahead of the 2024 general elections.
The conference will run till Thursday and Zondo is expected to make a closing address.
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