Challenge launched to the way judicial appointments are made
The Helen Suzman Foundation has launched a high court application challenging a number of recent decisions by the Judicial Service Commission. The application claims the decisions were invalid as they were ‘irrational’.
Explaining why the foundation has taken this step, Francis Antonie, director of the foundation, says they want to clarify the procedures used by the commission and the way it takes decisions. By focusing on the lawfulness of a set of decisions the foundation hopes to get certainty about how key sections of the constitution are being interpreated and implemented by the commission.
It’s an interesting step in the on-going debate about how the commission operates: already a number of its decisions have been tested in court and each time the commission has come off second best.
The latest challenge could get to the heart of the issue.
Here are the founding affidavit and the foundation’s initial statement about its intentions.
