Pretoria - Chief Justice nominee Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga has laid out his vision for the judiciary, promising to improve case flow management, intensify transformation of the Bench, review some of the court rules and ensure speedy delivery of judgments.
Conceding to delays in delivering Constitutional Court judgments, Justice Madlanga vowed to streamline processes, involve mediators to fast-track justice throughout of court settlements and deal decisively against male judges who display sexist, patriarchal and misogynistic attitudes towards women who appear before them as witnesses.
Justice Madlanga, the first to take the hot seat for the country’s top judge position, said, however, that transformation “cannot just be for transformation’s sake”. He said people’s life experiences enabled them to bring different perspectives to the table.
“Transformation is not just about different races. It is about different people’s outlook on life. Different people bring different things to the table.”
He was interviewed yesterday by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) as one of four candidates eligible to replace former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng. Deputy President of the Appeal Court Xola Petse is chairing the interview process.
Asked by Commissioner Dali Mpofu about his transformation track record and what role he sees for the judiciary in transformation, Justice Madlanga said the judiciary is constraint in terms of how it can intervene in the issue of briefing patterns, but as ConCourt justices they are concerned about the slow pace of transformation of the legal profession.
Justice Madlanga said as chief justice he would encourage the use of broadcasting court proceedings so the poor people, especially those from rural areas, don’t have to spend money on attending physical court.
The Constitutional Court judge is one of four names shortlisted by President Cyril Ramaphosa following public nominations. This after Justice Mogoeng’s term ended on October 11 last year, although he had been on leave since May.
Justice Madlanga assured the commission that he was a leader and the right man for the position. He said he was a trendsetter and an intellectual leader. He said ConCourt judges as well as acting judges in this division often consult with him on some judgments.
Justice Madlanga was appointed as a Constitutional Court by then President Jacob Zuma in 2013.
He said a chief justice should lead from the front – a viruality he had proved he had, he said.
He said he did not believe there would be resistance to the changes he hoped to make in streamlining the judiciary. He said if appointed, he would engage with all the stakeholders – from the Supreme Court of Appeal up to officers from the district courts – about problems and the way forward. Asked about whether the judiciary’s budget being under the Justice Minister has implications for the independence of the judiciary, Justice Madlanga said this was an issue which needed to be considered.
He also said if appointed, he would “hit the ground running” and get behind the perceptions that wealthy South Africans are not comfortable with black judges adjudicating their cases. “The perception is that they do not have confidence in them, which is why those matters are taken away from the judicial system and brought before private arbitration,” he said, vowing to look into this if he becomes the next chief justice.
Asked by EFF leader Julius Malema about whether he knows about a “security threat on judges”, Justice Madlanga said while he was aware of this, he did not have any of the details.
While admitting that there were delayed judgments by the ConCourt, Justice Madlanga agreed to a question by Malema in this regard that it was justifiable to criticise the court for these delays.
Asked to comment on criticism that the ConCourt’s rulings were incoherent or include strong language, Justice Madlanga said he needed specific examples. However, he added that the court had been rightly criticised over citation and language issues.
He said he believed these issues would be addressed by the ConCourt’s new workflow system.
Asked about his leadership skills, he said these had been demonstrated over and over in the past. Asked about the fact that judges on occasions comment on political controversies, Justice Madlanga said “this is easier said than done”.
According to him the courts are on occasions required to decide on the reasonableness of decisions made by government and Parliament, which often has political implications. However, he said it’s best to “steer clear” of commenting on political issues outside the context of court cases.
When asked how he would deal with the media if appointed, he said people are free to criticise the judiciary, but it should not reach such a level it would be devastating to the rule of law. Criticism should be fair and not be driven by a desire to bring the judiciary into disrepute, he said.
In the hot seat today will be Supreme Court of Appeal Judge President Judge Mandisa Maya, followed by Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo. Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo will be the last to be interviewed on Friday.
Pretoria News