JSC interviews: ‘I know I am not entitled to chief justice post’ – Zondo

Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on Friday told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that he was on the same level as the other chief justice nominees, and did not expect to be appointed just because he took over after Mogoeng Mogoeng’s retirement.

Zondo is the last candidate in the hot seat at the JSC interviews for the country’s new head of the judiciary.

He said the other three candidates were great leaders and judges.

“I did not come here thinking am am entitled to any position. The President [Cyril Ramaphosa] has a prerogative on who to appoint… it is not my attitude that because I am deputy and acting chief justice that I will automatically be appointed.

“It is not my attitude either that I am better than the other candidates. I see myself as the others, whom I have respect and have personal relationships with them. They are brilliant as leaders and are good judges.”

ALSO READ: JSC interviews: Dunstan Mlambo denies sexual harassment claims

Zondo is leading the judiciary in an acting position and also chaired the commission of inquiry in state capture. He was appointed Deputy Chief Justice after JSC interviews in 2017.

He was first appointed as a judge at the age of 37. Zondo also told the JSC that he has two and a half years before his term as justice of the Constitutional Court ends.

He outlined his plans for the judiciary should he be appointed, saying that a chief justice should be a person of integrity and an ability to provide leadership.

“He should be someone who is able to work with other people and appreciate the contribution of other leaders in the judiciary. Of course, he or she would also be ambassador of the country’s judiciary and attend other legal matters across the world. They must be someone humble… judge presidents provide collective leadership for the judiciary and such a chief justice should takes their views seriously.”

ALSO READ: JSC interviews: Corruption at courts need urgent attention – Dunstan Mlambo

First on his list would be to attend to what he called an institutional model for the administration of the courts that he said was proposed to the executive years ago.

“Many years ago a question arose… as to what kind of model of institutional administration do we want? In that research, the proposal we made was to first establish the office of the chief justice as a national department. This was the first phase that was achieved,” he said.

Zondo added the former president Jacob Zuma should be applauded for making sure that the chief justice office was established and was run as per the proposal.

The chief justice nominee said he would attend to the state of the courts across the country, especially the district and magisterial courts whose buildings were in a bad state.

It seemed most of the problems fell within the realm of the Department of Public Works, he said.

“A lot of problems relate to unmaintained buildings, no air conditioners, lifts that are out of order and recording machines not working for months. Many high courts are also not in good condition… the high court in Thohoyandou is one.”

In some instances, magistrates have no parking within the court precinct. They are then forced to park outside where they find themselves fighting for parking space with an accused that appeared before them in court, Zondo added.

He further proposed that the constitution be amended to allow justices to tackle judgments separately, instead of the present requirement that all 11 justices deal with each and every matter before the apex court.

“The Constitutional Court doesn’t operate like the high court or the SCA. In the high court, [a judge] very often sits alone in a matter, he or she decides after hearing a matter in the morning and is ready to give judgment in the afternoon. He or she doesn’t have to consult other judges.”

“SCA consultation can be between two judges. In the Constitutional Court, 11 judges consult on every matter and there are differing views, but there mustn’t be delays as it gives guidance to all courts. You cant say, for example, that you would write you own judgments, because then we would have five or six different judgments on one matter… consultation does take time and we must strike a balance.”

NOW READ: WATCH LIVE: Zondo in hot seat for Chief Justice interview