MK Party heads to court for urgent interdict to stop JSC from holding next sitting
The JSC refused a request by the MK Party earlier this week to postpone its sitting, saying the absence of John Hlophe - who's been interdicted from participating in the process, won’t impact its quorum nor its decision-making.
MK Party parliamentary leader, John Hlophe, in Parliament. Picture: @ParliamentofRSA/X
CAPE TOWN – UMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Parliamentary leader, John Hlophe says to prevent him from participating in the interviews for new judges next week will be akin to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) perpetuating an illegality.
The former judge said it would also render the process unconstitutional.
The MK party heads to the Johannesburg High Court on Friday morning for an urgent interdict to stop the JSC from holding its next sitting.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), meanwhile will be opposing the application, after it had some success in the Western Cape High Court last week, which interdicted Hlophe from participating in the JSC until his designation by Parliament is subjected to a court review.
In his submission to the court, MK Member of Parliament (MP), Hlophe said if the Western Cape High Court found the National Assembly wanting in respect of his designation as a JSC commissioner, then the same holds true for the other five MPs who were subjected to the same appointment process.
Hlophe, the former Western Cape High Court Judge President believes the JSC will not be properly constituted when it sits on Monday because last week’s court ruling should not only target him but impact all the National Assembly designees.
Among the 54 interviews the JSC is expected to conduct next week is to fill the seat left vacant by Hlophe when he was impeached by the previous Parliament in February.
The JSC refused a request by the MK Party earlier this week to postpone its sitting, saying Hlophe’s absence won’t impact its quorum nor its decision-making.
But Hlophe insists it will be legally untenable and undesirable for it to proceed until the legality of the National Assembly’s conduct has been cleared up.
Meanwhile, the DA’s federal chairperson Helen Zille has filed an opposing affidavit in the matter, saying it would neither be in the public interest nor in the interest of justice to indefinitely postpone the interviews.