judiciary

Zuma Wants Judiciary Out of the Way: SAIRR
The South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) says that President Jacob Zuma wants to make sure the judiciary ‘doesn't get in his way’ or ‘scrutinise him too deeply’.

SAIRR chief executive, John Kane-Berman, said in a speech in Cape Town that a number of commentators had professed themselves ‘baffled’ and ‘in some cases stunned’ by Zuma's failure to appoint Deputy Chief Justice, Dikgang Moseneke, as Chief Justice.

In the same vein, Kane-Berman also argued that Zuma's decision to appoint a commission to investigate the multi-billion rand arms deal could also be a simple ‘tactical manoeuvre’ to avoid answering to the Constitutional Court.

To read the article titled, “Zuma wants judiciary out of the way: SAIRR,” click here.

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Times Live
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Court for Serious Human Rights Abuses
- Congo
- judiciary
- politics
- rights
The Democratic Republic of Congo's parliament has adopted a bill creating a Specialised Court for serious violations of human rights.

The legislation, adopted last month, will enable the new court to deal with cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide committed in that country since 1990.

The bill proposes that the court function with the assistance of foreign magistrates who have experience handling serious violations of human rights, something that has provoked a lively controversy among criminal law experts and members of civil society.

To read the article titled, “Specialised court for serious human rights abuses,” click here.

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All Africa
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CHR Surprised at Mogoeng’s Nomination
The Centre for Human Rights (CHR) at the University of Pretoria is ‘seriously’ questioning President Jacob Zuma's nomination of Constitutional Court Judge Mogoeng Mogoeng to be the new chief justice.

In a press statement, CHR argues that compared to his predecessors in the post-1994 era - chief justices Arthur Chaskalson, Pius Langa, and Sandile Ngcobo, whose appointments reflected their considerable academic and intellectual stature established by illustrious careers prior to or as members of the court, the basis for Justice Mogoeng's nomination is ‘startlingly unclear’.

The organisation further states that, "There is in our view a lack of evidence to assure South Africans that the best possible candidate has been nominated to serve as our chief justice - a position that he will hold, if appointed, for the next decade."

To read the article titled, “Rights Centre surprised at Mogoeng's nomination,” click here.

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The Citizen
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CASAC, CALS, to Take Zuma to Court
The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at University of the Witwatersrand are challenging President Jacob Zuma's decision to request that the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court stays on beyond his tenure.

CASAC chairperson, Sipho Pityana points out that, “This infringes upon the principle of the separation of powers, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary that are the very cornerstones of our constitutional architecture.”

Pityana further states that, “If a Chief Justice is unilaterally appointed by the head of the executive there will inevitably be a suspicion or perception that he or she is beholden to the person that has the power to appoint.”

To read the article titled, “Legal groups take Zuma to court,” click here.

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Independent Online
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Langa Condemns Attacks on the Judiciary
Chief Justice Pius Langa has slammed attacks against the judiciary, saying they impugn one of the pillars of our democracy.

Addressing the media ahead of this weekend’s inaugural World Conference on Constitutional Justice, Langa pointed out that while he expects people to scrutinise their judgments, this criticism must not "jeopardise or impugn the integrity or dignity of the judgment."

"I don’t think anyone should be called a drunk or counter-revolutionary. People need to have regard for the institution itself, especially people in leadership roles because what they say impacts on others," says Langa.

The conference will take place from 23-24 January 2009 in Cape Town.

To read the article titled, “Attacks on judiciary harms democracy,” click here.

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Sunday Times