Nominations finally opened to fill Constitutional Court bench
While there is a rich pool of judicial experience to draw from, too many judges in acting positions is not ideal
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has finally invited nominations to fill the two vacancies on the Constitutional Court’s bench. The top court has 11 permanent members of the bench, but the positions left vacant by the promotion of deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo to his current position in March 2017, and the retirement of justice Bess Nkabinde earlier this year, have not yet been filled. The JSC also advertised five vacancies at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which is the second highest court in the land. The SCA has 21 permanent judges, meaning it is operating without almost a quarter of its needed total. The Constitutional Court has had multiple acting judges taking up positions while the posts have been left vacant for months. In a recent judgment declaring a part of the Regulation of Gatherings Act unconstitutional, four of the nine judges in the unanimous decision were acting ones. It is understood that, given the experience required to be appointed to the Constitut...
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