![]() ![]() When the tribunal rejected their concerns, they went to the high court. They said the case should be decided under the old system, that the new system was unconstitutional and breached the separation of powers because it provides that a member of the prosecuting authority be appointed as a pro forma prosecutor and other, technical objections. When it decided that they would be dealt with under the new dispensation, the decision was challenged.Īt Hlophe’s Judicial Conduct Tribunal, Nkabinde and Jafta raised several concerns about the new process under the JSC Amendment Act. The JSC had to decide how to approach them. The fact that some complaints straddled the two regimes was part of the reason for the delay. The amended Act introduced the Judicial Conduct Committee (which receives complaints), set out different procedures depending on how serious the misconduct allegations were and provided for Judicial Conduct Tribunals, which investigate and hear cases that the JSC thinks would, if proved, amount to impeachable conduct. The complaints against Motata and Hlophe were made so long ago that a new regime was introduced on how to deal with complaints of judicial misconduct when amendments to the Judicial Service Commission Act came into force in 2010.īefore, complaints of impeachable conduct were dealt with by the entire Judicial Service Commission (JSC), not subcommittees, and there was no mechanism to hold judges to account for misconduct that was serious but did not warrant impeachment. Justice Chris Jafta, the second crucial witness in the Hlophe tribunal, was only acting on the Constitutional Court at the time of the complaint and is now one of its more senior members. Justice Bess Nkabinde - not facing a complaint, but one of the key witnesses in the Hlophe tribunal - was at the time of the complaint the most junior justice on the Bench of the highest court but has since also retired. So, retired or not, there is much to lose if they are impeached. Although an accused person may conduct his defence on the basis that it is the state’s job to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, he may not allow his counsel to put an untrue version to a witness.Īlong with Motata, two of the other judges facing impeachment inquiries have also since retired and two have been medically boarded because of bad health. A senior counsel at the Johannesburg Bar, Gerrit Pretorius, complained that Motata had used a defence that he knew to be untrue - a breach of judicial ethics.ĭuring the trial, Motata’s counsel suggested to a state witness that the judge was not drunk. The second relates to his conduct during his criminal trial. This used to be the white man’s land but it isn’t anymore.” AfriForum says that, in a recording made at the scene of the accident shortly after the crash, Motata is heard saying to Richard Baird, the owner of the house, that “no boer is going to undermine me. A third tribunal, headed by Justice Bess Nkabinde, of the Constitutional Court, will look into complaints against four Pretoria judges - Ferdi Preller, Ntsikelelo Poswa, Moses Mavundla and George Webster - over the alleged failure to deliver judgments.In 2011, two complaints were laid against him, one relating to comments he was said to have made at the scene of the crash - which right-wing civil rights organisation AfriForum says were racist - a claim he has steadfastly denied. A tribunal headed by KZN Deputy Judge President Achmat Naaim Jappie will consider a complaint against Pretoria Judge Nkola Motata, who was convicted of drunk driving. ![]() Eastern Cape High Court Judge Bonisile Sandi and attorney Noxolo Maduba will also be on the tribunal. On Friday, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, head of the JSC, announced that retired Judge Joop Labuschagne would head the tribunal looking into Hlophe's alleged transgressions, relating to a 2009 complaint from then judges of the Constitutional Court. SA's first judicial conduct tribunals have been set up to probe complaints against six judges, including Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, says a report in The Sunday Independent.
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