South Africa Is Due To Get A New Chief Justice: What It Takes To Do The Job Well

RICHARD CALLAND|

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has been a beacon of light during a decade-long period of political uncertainty and turmoil.

Most recently, the highest court in the land handed down an eloquent, as well as ground-breaking, judgment in defence of the rule of law and the constitutional order.

The June ruling imposed a custodial sentence on former president Jacob Zuma for contempt of court, citing his refusal to heed the court’s order to appear before the Zondo Commission of inquiry into state capture.

There could be no clearer or stronger sign of the independence of the judiciary than Justice Sisi Khampepe’s judgment, written on behalf of the majority of the court.

Nevertheless question marks hang over the court due to some serious governance failures. Errors that were recently made in a judgment that resulted in the final order having to be amended suggest that all is not as it