Judges slam poor appointments
Two high court judges yesterday criticised poor judicial appointments and the increasing number of reserved judgments that drag on for months, and in some cases years, saying this was an increasing feature of court rolls.
The criticism follows persistent reports that inexperienced judges are clogging up high court rolls by taking months to deliver judgments.
High court judges Azhar Cachalia and Peter Combrink expressed the criticism during their interviews with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for appointment to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The commission began its proceedings yesterday with another session behind closed doors to decide on appointments to the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court.
The division is plagued by the appointment of acting judges and delayed rulings.
Cachalia, a former safety and security official who has served as an acting judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal for the past 18 months, said he had been “shocked” by what he called systemic failure in the courts.
He cited an appeal that took five years to finalise, which finally saw a life sentence set aside.
He said he was “troubled” by some shocking judgments emerging from the high court.
“The JSC has made some mistakes and the chickens are coming home to roost,” Cachalia said.
Commission member Milton Seligson said the JSC was discussing delays in judgments and how this related to the appointment of acting high court judges.
Cachalia said he was uncomfortable with the “hired-hand” way in which advocates and attorneys were made acting judges for a week or two.
“This does the bench no good,” he said.
Cachalia said he would prefer a situation where being appointed an acting judge was an honour and those who accepted the appointment were prepared to leave their practices for two to three months.
He said there was a desperate need to expand the pool of judges.
Chief Justice Pius Langa, who chairs the commission, asked Cachalia why good lawyers were not making themselves available for appointment to the bench.
Cachalia said he felt that good black candidates with the seniority to be appointed to the bench were doing very well financially, and so becoming judges would mean a substantial reduction of income.
Whites, he said, were afraid of being trapped beneath a glass ceiling where they had no career prospects as a result of their race.
Combrink, in response to a question from Julian von Klemperer, said when he reserved judgment he always specified when he would hand down the decision.
He said it was unacceptable for judgments not to be dealt with in a timely manner, with a judge sitting on them for six to nine months. People should not be left in limbo.
In a strange twist, Judge Nkola Motata, also applying for one of the two posts available on the Supreme Court of Appeal, came under sustained pressure for being one of the judges on the Transvaal Provincial Division who was tardy in bringing out his judgments. Some of Motata’s decisions has been delayed for more than a year. Read more
The criticism follows persistent reports that inexperienced judges are clogging up high court rolls by taking months to deliver judgments.
High court judges Azhar Cachalia and Peter Combrink expressed the criticism during their interviews with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for appointment to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The commission began its proceedings yesterday with another session behind closed doors to decide on appointments to the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court.
The division is plagued by the appointment of acting judges and delayed rulings.
Cachalia, a former safety and security official who has served as an acting judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal for the past 18 months, said he had been “shocked” by what he called systemic failure in the courts.
He cited an appeal that took five years to finalise, which finally saw a life sentence set aside.
He said he was “troubled” by some shocking judgments emerging from the high court.
“The JSC has made some mistakes and the chickens are coming home to roost,” Cachalia said.
Commission member Milton Seligson said the JSC was discussing delays in judgments and how this related to the appointment of acting high court judges.
Cachalia said he was uncomfortable with the “hired-hand” way in which advocates and attorneys were made acting judges for a week or two.
“This does the bench no good,” he said.
Cachalia said he would prefer a situation where being appointed an acting judge was an honour and those who accepted the appointment were prepared to leave their practices for two to three months.
He said there was a desperate need to expand the pool of judges.
Chief Justice Pius Langa, who chairs the commission, asked Cachalia why good lawyers were not making themselves available for appointment to the bench.
Cachalia said he felt that good black candidates with the seniority to be appointed to the bench were doing very well financially, and so becoming judges would mean a substantial reduction of income.
Whites, he said, were afraid of being trapped beneath a glass ceiling where they had no career prospects as a result of their race.
Combrink, in response to a question from Julian von Klemperer, said when he reserved judgment he always specified when he would hand down the decision.
He said it was unacceptable for judgments not to be dealt with in a timely manner, with a judge sitting on them for six to nine months. People should not be left in limbo.
In a strange twist, Judge Nkola Motata, also applying for one of the two posts available on the Supreme Court of Appeal, came under sustained pressure for being one of the judges on the Transvaal Provincial Division who was tardy in bringing out his judgments. Some of Motata’s decisions has been delayed for more than a year. Read more
posted by Jopie Fourie at 3:25 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home