Chief justice must consider the wider consequences of his utterances for the credibility of the courts
Chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s proclivity for public speaking has put him and the judiciary in a bind after he seemed to publicly support Israel, contradicting SA’s official foreign policy on one of the most contested political issues in the world.
His religion has now resulted in him coming under pressure from political parties and lobby groups to withdraw his comments in which he disagreed with SA’s approach to Israel and Palestine, and quoted the Bible in saying — according to the report in the Jerusalem Post, which hosted Mogoeng in a webinar — that those who curse Israel will be cursed themselves.
“The esteemed chief justice entered the arena of political commentary, which may make him vulnerable should he have to adjudicate a human rights matter in the future,” the ANC said.Africa4Palestine said in the wake of Mogoeng’s comments that it would lodge a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission .
Oxtoby said there’s a good reason the principle that judges don’t comment on things outside the scope of their job is generally adhered to — there’s, among other things, a huge possible impact on the credibility of the institution. Though people who supported Mogoeng in the latest saga argued that he was allowed to comment, as he had the right to freedom of speech and made it in his personal capacity, this is clearly not a free speech issue.
It would be hard to argue that the comments made were necessary in the discharge of judicial office, and that they did not result in political controversy.
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