The Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on Justice and Correctional Services, Glynnis Breytenbach, has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to follow the late former president Nelson Mandela’s example in appointing the country’s next chief justice.
The term of the current Chief Justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, ends on the 12th of October this year. Breytenbach says when Mandela appointed Ismail Mahomed to the position in 1996; he chose a process led by a four-person panel from the Judicial Service Commission.
The panel called for nominations from the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Judges President of the High Courts, legal organisations as well as Mandela himself.
She says Ramaphosa has already followed similar processes when appointing the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
The DA says it believes a consultative approach is needed to restore trust in the independence of the judiciary.
