ConCourt dismisses application by MK, Hlophe to challenge interim interdict preventing him from serving on JSC

CAPE TOWN - The Constitutional Court has dismissed an application by the MK Party and its parliamentary leader, John Hlophe, to challenge an interim interdict which has prevented him from serving on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The apex court said that no case had been made for a direct appeal.

However, since that interdict was granted last September, the Western Cape High Court has heard main arguments in the case brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Under Law (FUL) about Hlophe's suitability to serve on the body that interviews candidates to become judges.

Last year, three separate cases were lodged in the Western Cape High Court to urgently stop Hlophe, the former Western Cape High Court judge president, from taking up a seat as a parliamentarian on the JSC.

They argued that as an impeached judge, he's unsuitable to sit on the body that recommended his impeachment to Parliament last year, just months before he became an MP.

In December, the high court dismissed an application for leave to appeal against the interim order, prompting Hlophe to head straight to the Constitutional Court.

In February, the high court heard the complainants' part B application in which they gave the court their reasons why they believe Parliament erred in approving his nomination.

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party, meanwhile, argued there was no constitutional impediment prohibiting his designation.

Judgment in that matter is still awaited.

While the Constitutional Court on Tuesday accepted the delay in bringing the matter to it, it said that no case had been made for a direct appeal.

The court has dismissed the application with costs.