JSC recommends one candidate for Free State High Court vacancy

Free State judge candidate Nokuthula Sylvia Daniso managed to impress the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Tuesday, when she interviewed for a vacancy in the Free State High Court.

After interviewing three people for the one position, the JSC decided that it would recommend Daniso to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

During the interview, Daniso told members of the commission that she had acted in the high court for five months – and during that period, she had written 21 judgments.

She also pointed out that she wrote “very good judgments”, which were delivered on time.

“I write well-reasoned judgments because they are going to end up in the High Courts. When I went to the High Court [acting as a judge], I could write proper or very good judgments,” she said.

“Being in the district court, you are in the forefront, you are accessible to the community. In the High Court we are not that accessible, we speak to people through our judgments.

“That is why when I write my judgments, I use the simplest language so that anyone who comes across it can understand their rights and what I am trying to say.”

According to the Judges Matter website, Daniso completed her B.Proc at the University of Limpopo in 1996 and completed her LLB through the University of South Africa.

While the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) raised concerns that she had acted for less than two terms in the High Court, adding that it did not support her appointment at this stage, Daniso defended herself and said that, while acting for five months, she had managed to write judgments in “all” sections of the High Court.

She said she did not believe that a competent woman judge should be delayed in getting an opportunity to be a judge so that she could do another acting stint.

Other candidates who interviewed for the position on Thursday were Thiloshini Ramdeyal, who has been a regional magistrate for 14 years, and advocate Ilse van Rhyn.

The JSC did not recommend either of them for the position.

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