National Assembly acted irrationally in appointing impeached Hlophe to JSC - Freedom Under Law
Freedom Under Law and Corruption Watch said the National Assembly failed to exercise its discretionary powers, choosing instead, to rely on convention by endorsing Hlophe's nomination without considering the impact on the judiciary.
MK Party parliamentary leader John Hlophe sworn in as an MP on 25 June 2024. Picture: GCIS
CAPE TOWN - Freedom Under Law and Corruption Watch say the National Assembly behaved irrationally when it did not consider the suitability of an impeached former judge to serve on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which considers candidates for judicial appointment.
The civil society organisations alongside the Democratic Alliance (DA), are asking the Western Cape High Court to review and set aside the decision to approve the nomination of Umkhonto weSizwe parliamentary leader, John Hlophe, to serve on the body.
The applicants said the National Assembly failed to exercise its discretionary powers, choosing instead, to rely on convention by endorsing the nomination without considering the impact on the judiciary.
Not until the MK party nominated Hlophe as one of ten Members of Parliament (MPs) to serve on the JSC has the National Assembly been faced with the quagmire over the suitability of nominations.
It has always rubberstamped the nominations made by the respective parties, including from the opposition.
But Freedom under Law advocate Max du Plessis said that given the circumstances around Hlophe's removal from the bench, and subsequently becoming an MP, the house needed to be more circumspect.
"The lights were flashing bright red for the National Assembly. Its own debates and transcripts show that it knew there was this problem of an impeached judge. But the National Assembly drove right through. It never asked itself the question: what do we have to do about this? Do we have a rationality obligation to make sure that this is somebody who is not appointed?"
Corruption Watch advocate Geoff Budlender said nowhere in the world can a person return to an organisation to select his successor after being dismissed.
The JSC interviewed for a new Western Cape High Court judge president last October when Hlophe was interdicted from sitting on the JSC pending this review.
Corruption Watch wants the National Assembly to take the decision afresh, and for the court to make Hlophe’s designation impermissible.