{"id":74164,"date":"2024-09-27T16:03:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T16:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/john-hlophe-barred-from-upcoming-jsc-interviews"},"modified":"2024-09-27T16:03:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T16:03:00","slug":"john-hlophe-barred-from-upcoming-jsc-interviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/john-hlophe-barred-from-upcoming-jsc-interviews","title":{"rendered":"John Hlophe barred from upcoming JSC interviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>When the National Assembly sent the MK Party\u2019s (MKP) parliamentary leader John Hlophe to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), it had merely \u201crubber-stamped\u201d the party\u2019s nomination of Hlophe and failed to exercise its own discretions, the Western Cape High Court said on Friday.<\/p>\n

The court has temporarily interdicted Hlophe from participating in the work of the JSC, the body that interviews and recommends candidates for appointment as judges.<\/p>\n

The order means Hlophe \u201cmay miss one or perhaps two sittings of the JSC\u201d, but it would not prevent the JSC from doing its work, said the judgment.<\/p>\n

Hlophe, formerly judge president of the Western Cape division, was the first judge to be impeached in democratic South Africa\u2019s history. After his impeachment he joined the MKP as an MP and was then designated by the National Assembly as one of its six members to the JSC.<\/p>\n

The move was urgently challenged in three separate applications to the high court by the DA and NGOs Corruption Watch and Freedom Under Law (FUL). NGO AfriForum launched its own, separate, application directly to the Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n

In its judgment, the court said the JSC \u201cwill function in [Hlophe\u2019s] absence, but if required, the National Assembly may always designate another MP, nominated by the opposition parties to take his place\u201d.<\/p>\n

The court\u2019s interim interdict will remain in place until \u201cPart B\u201d of the DA and Corruption Watch court cases are decided, or if the Constitutional Court makes a decision on the merits in AfriForum\u2019s case (it could decide not to hear it directly), whichever comes first.<\/p>\n

In part B, the NGOs want final orders setting aside the National Assembly\u2019s decision to designate Hlophe. FUL had asked the court for a final interdict, but \u201cafter much deliberation\u201d the court instead postponed its case to be heard later, along with Part B of the DA and Corruption Watch cases.<\/p>\n

In Friday\u2019s judgment, Gauteng High Court judges Selby Baqwa and Colleen Collis and Free State high court judge Johannes Daffue said they were satisfied there was \u201cat least a very strong prima facie case\u201d that the decision of the National Assembly was unlawful, though this was to be finally decided in part B.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is evident from the [court] papers that the National Assembly failed to appreciate it had a discretion in designating MPs to the JSC, and consequently it failed to exercise such discretion and did \u2018rubber-stamp\u2019 MK\u2019s nomination of Dr Hlophe,\u201d said the judgment.<\/p>\n

They rejected an argument made by Hlophe and the MKP that Hlophe\u2019s impeachment did not prevent him from being sent to the JSC because, unlike the president (who loses all benefits and may not stand for any public office if impeached), there were no \u201ccollateral consequences\u201d for impeached judges. The court said this was a \u201cstartling submission\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe JSC is not an ordinary portfolio committee of parliament but an entity established by the constitution,\u201d said the judgment. There were \u201csufficient prospects\u201d that the DA, FUL and Corruption Watch would succeed in arguing the designation of Hlophe was irrational and unreasonable because, having been impeached for misconduct, he was in no position to assess the fitness for office of judicial candidates.<\/p>\n

His presence would undermine the legitimacy of the appointment process, the DA and NGOs had argued. The judges said their prima facie view was that the overarching purpose of the JSC\u2019s composition was \u201cto safeguard judicial independence and to ensure public confidence in the appointment process of judges\u201d.<\/p>\n

They did not agree that the only requirements for designation were that those designated must be MPs and that three of them came from opposition parties. The legitimacy of the JSC\u2019s processes would be tainted if Hlophe were to participate in them while there was a challenge pending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will undermine public confidence in the JSC,\u201d said the judgment.<\/p>\n

A review in due course would not protect the legitimacy of the upcoming JSC interviews.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the clearest cases to grant a restraining order,\u201d said the judgment.<\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. When the National Assembly sent the MK Party\u2019s (MKP) parliamentary leader John Hlophe to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), it had merely \u201crubber-stamped\u201d the party\u2019s nomination of Hlophe and failed to exercise its own discretions, the Western Cape High Court said on Friday. The court has temporarily interdicted Hlophe from participating in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":74163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-74164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nJohn Hlophe barred from upcoming JSC interviews - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/john-hlophe-barred-from-upcoming-jsc-interviews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"John Hlophe barred from upcoming JSC interviews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – South-Africa. When the National Assembly sent the MK Party\u2019s (MKP) parliamentary leader John Hlophe to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), it had merely \u201crubber-stamped\u201d the party\u2019s nomination of Hlophe and failed to exercise its own discretions, the Western Cape High Court said on Friday. 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