Judicial Service Commission conducts interviews for three SCA positions

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) will begin interviews for several positions at some of the country’s superior courts on Monday.

Sitting in Sandton, the JSC will interview six candidates for three vacancies at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

Four of the six candidates appearing before the commission were already interviewed last October.

The process comes amid criticism from bodies such as Judges Matter, which has raised concern over delays in delivering judgments, blaming an understaffed judiciary.

Monday’s interviews for the SCA vacancies are viewed as a rerun of the October 2025 JSC session, where the commission reached a deadlock and could not choose a single candidate due to a faulty voting system.

One of candidates in the hot seat is KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) High Court judge Nkosinathi Chili, who has built a legal career spanning more than 30 years, starting as a court interpreter.

He has served as acting deputy judge president in the KZN High Court in 2023 and has also acted at the SCA in 2024 and 2025.

Chili previously failed to secure an appointment to this post in 2024.

He is also known for presiding over high-profile cases, including the arms deal matter involving former statesman Jacob Zuma.

Interviews are expected to last between 40 minutes and an hour per candidate, although sessions often run longer.