Judges using double standards -- Blade

SACP leader Blade Nzimande has hit back at South Africa’s judges, accusing the judiciary of double standards.

Responding to this week’s unprecedented move that saw senior judges publicly object to the relentless criticism by politicians, Nzimande denied the courts were under attack.

He reiterated his claim that some judges were guilty of “overreaching” by making rulings that interfered with the functions of the other arms of state — the executive and the legislature.

Nzimande singled out the judgment made by the High Court in Cape Town against National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete’s decision to call in police when EFF MPs disrupted President Jacob Zuma’s speech in parliament.

“Judges must apply a tough test if a case comes before them which is about [the executive or parliament].

“If a question comes about rules of parliament, a test must be very tough. Is this issue really a judicial matter or a matter that should be dealt with by the rules of parliament?

“Not a ruling that tells us that the EFF has a right [to disrupt parliament],” Nzimande said.

The courts were applying double standards if they said parliament did not have a right to enforce its disciplinary rules, when the courts had similar rules, he said.

“When they say, ‘Silence in the court’, what do you do? If you don’t, you get charged for contempt of court. The same judges come and rule that the EFF can do whatever nonsense in par- liament,” Nzimande said.

The courts should respect the principle of the separation of powers between arms of the state, he said.

“We are saying, in other countries, if judges receive a matter before them that is about the functioning of another arm of state, they apply a very strict test on whether they should adjudicate on the matter or . . . send it back to that arm of state. That is why we are saying there is judicial overreach because we feel that in quite a number of instances,” Nzimande said.

❛ The same judges come and rule that the EFF can do whatever nonsense in parliament

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and 28 senior judges this week rejected the accusation of “overreaching” and warned that some of the accusations could undermine the judicial system.

Mogoeng has requested a meeting with President Jacob Zuma to discuss the attacks on the judiciary. Zuma has promised a meeting soon after returning from Russia.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who flew to China with Nzimande this morning on a government visit, said this week that the government welcomed the meeting with the judges and that the ANC would use it to express the views about the judiciary of those who elected the party to power.