The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended a human rights lawyer for a position in the Gauteng Division of the High Court.
After a session that dragged on well into the night the Judicial Service Commission has recommended three candidates for positions in the Gauteng High Court.
One vacancy remains in the court after the JSC resolved to only recommend three of the seven candidates that had been shortlisted. President Cyril Ramaphosa is still required to confirm the recommendations.
JSC Commissioner, Advocate Sesi Baloyi said on Thursday: “This afternoon into the evening, the JSC interviewed candidates for the Gauteng division of the high court, after interviews and deliberations the JSC has resolved to recommend 3 candidates and to advise the president to appoint the following three : Rochelle Francis-Subbiah, Stuart Wilson & JJ Swanepoel,” said JSC Commissioner Advocate Sesi Baloyi.
Acting Judge Stuart Wilson was one of eight candidates appearing before the JSC in Sandton, Johannesburg competing for four positions on the bench.
Wilson expressed his faith in the Constitution and how it can guide South Africa in the pursuit of equality and justice. He has litigated numerous matters including the Tshegofatso Pule case where he sentenced Nthutuko Shoba to life imprisonment for her premeditated murder.
“What’s optimistic about the state capture commission is that there was a state capture commission and the things that it documented are open to public scrutiny and debate and will aid in non-repetition. The thing to be optimistic about as far as the TRC is concerned is that there was a TRC. The truth was documented and it will aid in non-repetition. One of the major responses to the July riots was the decision of the government not to abandon something that looks like a basic income grant. Welfare states the world over are institutions of equality and institutions of justice. It’s not so much in the events themselves that I find the optimism, but in how we’ve been able to respond to them,” says Wilson.
According to Judges Matters, this recommendation will contribute to the progression of jurisprudence in the Gauteng Division of the High Court.
“It has been a number of years since a human rights lawyer who practices as a human rights lawyer been appointed to the Gauteng division of the High Court and adv. Wilson’s appointment is important in that way but also his experience in property law is important for that court, the Johannesburg High court hears a vast majority of property cases in the court system as a whole and his experience will contribute to the progression of the jurisprudence in that court,” says Judges Matters Researcher Mbekezeli Benjamin.
The JSC interviews are expected to continue on Friday with candidates for the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court.
JSC Interviews | 42 top jurists to vie for 20 positions in various courts this week:
