Hlophe picked the judge to argue his fate
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe – the first judge to face possible impeachment for gross misconduct after being found guilty by a Judicial Conduct Tribunal – selected a judge to represent the division at deliberations into his final fate, says a Daily Maverick report by Marianne Thamm.
JSC spokesperson Doris Tshepe confirmed that Judge Monde Ishmael Samela ‘represented the Western Cape Division of the High Court at the JSC meeting on 4 June. The JSC had no role in the determination of who attends on behalf of the division’.
Hlophe’s suspension was set to be decided on 4 June by a ‘small’ JSC of 14 (minus National Assembly and National Council of Provinces members) but the final verdict has been postponed to 30 July due to a ‘deadlock’.
The matter has dragged on for 13 years and has resulted in very public and acrimonious exchanges between the country’s most senior judges, plunging the judiciary into crisis.
Said tribunal chair, Judge Joop Labuschagne: ‘We consider it our duty to vindicate the integrity of the justices of the Constitutional Court, in particular Chief Justice Langa, Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke, Justice (Bess) Nkabinde and Justice (Chris) Jafta, whose integrity has been called into question by Judge President Hlophe’s unfounded and scurrilous attacks. They acted with honour to protect the institutional integrity of the apex court of our Republic.’
It has come to light that Hlophe dispatched Samela, the 14th most senior judge in the Western Cape division, to the JSC to vote on a matter in which the Judge President himself is the accused.
This, says the DM report, places any decision taken by the JSC in jeopardy of being taken on review as the legal rule against bias – ’no one should be a judge in their own cause’, would apply.
The DM says it has reliably learned that there was a ‘split’ in the JSC vote. Each ‘side’ has been requested to deliver written legal arguments and it is these submissions that will be presented and voted on on 30 July.
While legal experts all agree that Hlophe’s hand in the selection of a judge to represent the division at the JSC, which is set to vote on the matter, would make the decision taken ‘reviewable’, no one is quite sure ‘by whom?’
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
