Judicial independence - parliamentary statement
(5 April 2005)In retrospect it seems that the ANC 8 January 2005 statement about lack of transformation in the judiciary was specifically designed to silence critics at the outset of the campaign and thereby prevent a frank and open discussion of what is now transpiring.
For instance, a draft bill regarding the Justice College that had previously intended to create an institution independent from the state, now seeks to maintain a state-sponsored institution.
Carmel Rickard says in the latest Sunday Times: “the attitude that emerges from the tone and provisions of the draft [bill]s, [is] that judiciary officials are rather troublesome minor civil servants who must be constantly watched and micro-managed”.
One wonders what the real motivation behind the “transformation” call is. Neither the UDM nor the judiciary has questioned the undeniable need for transformation. But the Department of Justice itself is not a blueprint of transformation. In fact whilst officials are leaving the department at an alarming rate, replacements are not being appointed. One can only deduce from this that transformation is not the issue, but rather a judiciary that does not always bow to the will of the Executive.
