Simon Nare
THE Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a legal bid to have the impeached former Western Cape Judge President Dr John Hlophe disbarred from serving in the Judicial Service Commission.
The DA on Monday filed papers in the Western Cape High Court in a two-part application – first to have Hlophe barred from serving in the commission and to be ultimately removed.
DA federal chairperson Helen Zille in a statement on Tuesday said Hlophe should not be allowed to serve in the commission which impeached him.
Hlophe, who is MK Party leader in the National Assembly, was impeached in February following allegations of misconduct which surfaced in 2008.
Two Constitutional Court justices alleged that Hlophe had tried to influence them to rule favourably in a matter involving former President Jacob Zuma.
Hlophe is now back in parliament leading a party that is the brainchild of Zuma. His nominations to the commission raised eyebrows but there was no legal recourse to stop him from serving.
Now the DA wants to test this matter in a court of law.
“While we accept that it is the prerogative of political parties to nominate persons to serve on the JSC, it does not follow that a former Judge, who was impeached for gross misconduct, can be designated by Parliament to serve on the body that found him guilty of this misconduct,” said Zille.
Zille added that the first part of the application seeks to prevent Hlophe from serving while the matter is pending in a court of law.
The second part seeks to have the National Assembly designation of Hlophe as its representative to the commission set aside.
“It would be irrational for the National Assembly to have the same person, who has been impeached, representing it on the JSC, which is the body responsible for nominating Judges to appointment, and for disciplining Judges.
“The National Assembly is obligated to protect and uphold the judiciary’s independence, integrity and dignity, a responsibility the DA takes seriously,” she said.
Zille argued that designating Hlophe to the commission presented a clear conflict of interest and undermined the country’s judiciary independence.
“Representatives elected to the JSC from the National Assembly must embody these values. Parliament’s failure to ensure this, risks undermining the JSC’s processes for electing judges and investigating judicial conduct, thereby endangering the rule of law in South Africa and the proper functioning of the Judiciary,” she said.
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