OPINIONISTA: Interesting points arise out of JSC hearings for ConCourt justices’ appointments By Professor Balthazar
In no order of importance, let’s begin with the omission from the list of five candidates of Judge Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane.
This exchange is truly saturated with irony, given the legitimate concern of members of the Judicial Service Commission with the issue of gender equality. Here was precisely the kind of comment that applies only to women — overbearing and over-assertive. Men, by contrast, are hardly subjected to the same characterisation, notwithstanding the number of rude men who have been judges over the decades.
But this issue prompted a broader set of problematic responses concerning academic and media criticism of the court. The suggestion was made that there is a nefarious agenda not only to discredit the Chief Justice in particular but also to create a divide between judges of whom the media/academics approve and those that they do not.
It is true that sometimes criticism may be seen as overly strident and arguably wrong, but that is the price of freedom of expression. Analytical and if necessary, critical comment on judgments is part of a robust democracy. there is surprisingly little outside the question of the common law and, to some very limited extent, administrative law. Unlike during the apartheid era, present-day academics, either because of a lack of courage or interest, offer very little by way of critical analysis. Indeed it is hardly likely that they will respond to the present conspiracy charge.
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