Judges Matter calls for amendments to JSC Act to 'speed adjudication of complaints'
On Wednesday, Parliament voted for the impeachment of Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe and retired Gauteng High Court Judge Nkola Motata, after the two were both found guilty of gross judicial misconduct.
Retired Gauteng High Court Judge Nkola Motata & Judge President John Hlophe. Picture credit: Judges Matter website
JOHANNESBURG - Judges Matter is calling for amendments to the Judicial Service Commission Act and a beefed-up staff complement for the JSC to speed up the process when it comes to dealing with judicial misconduct cases.
On Wednesday, Parliament voted for the impeachment of Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe and retired Gauteng High Court Judge Nkola Motata, after the two were both found guilty of gross judicial misconduct.
This marks what’s effectively the final step in the process but it took well over a decade in both judges’ cases, with the events at the heart thereof dating back to 2008 and 2007 respectively.
The delays in their respective cases have garnered strong criticism.
"One of the important lessons the JSC must take is to act much faster in cases of judicial misconduct. Even though we have seen some improvements in recent times in the cases that have been handled by the JSC, it still takes a very long time," said Judges Matter’s Mbkezeli Benjamin.
He said the JSC can remedy this by streamlining the process.
"That will require an amendment to the JSC Act to make sure that there’s a speedy process of adjudication of complaints. The second intervention would be to bring in more capacity into the judicial misconduct system - that means more members of the judicial conduct committee but also more staff to handle complaints at the JSC."