President Jacob Zuma has confirmed that he plans to replace three members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) – days\u00a0before the commission is expected to interview\u00a0potential candidates.<\/p>\n
The JSC <\/a><\/strong>is responsible, in part, for\u00a0interviewing all candidates for judicial posts across the country and makes recommendations for appointments to the president.\u00a0It also deals with all complaints brought against judges.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0S178(1) (j) of the Constitution, the president is allowed to designate four members of the JSC after consulting with party leaders represented in the National Assembly, spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said in a statement.<\/p>\n “The new members will fill the three vacancies occasioned by the president’s decision to replace members that he had previously designated to the JSC,” Ngqulunga\u00a0said.<\/p>\n According to independent reports by the City Press<\/a><\/strong> and News24<\/a>,<\/strong> Zuma is considering designating Advocate Thandi Norman, Sifiso Msomi and Advocate Thabani Masuku\u00a0as replacements.<\/p>\n They will be replacing widely-respected members Dumisa Ntsebeza SC, \u00a0Ishmael Semenya SC, and Andiswa Ndoni. While the new candidates are not complete unknowns,\u00a0they are not of the level of seniority one would usually expect of presidential designates to the body, noted legal analysts.<\/p>\n City Press also indicated that the changes were made\u00a0after outgoing judges, \u00a0Ntsebeza and Semenya, both took on briefs that could be regarded as contrary to Zuma\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n However, Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery has indicated that the changes did not mean that the judiciary was under attack. Speaking in a SABC <\/a><\/strong>interview on 25 March, Jeffrey\u00a0noted that the ANC has called for an activist judiciary in its Mangaung policy document. He says the party would not have done that if it wanted to clip the wings of the judiciary.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m being defensive on the question of whether the judiciary is under threat as the people who are presenting that argument are doing so to undermine the government – the ANC government. They’re creating a bogey that isn’t there.\u201d<\/p>\nChanges<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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