JSC finally fills high court posts

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) yesterday announced it had filled six vacancies in the North and South Gauteng High Courts instead of the advertised four.

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) yesterday announced it had filled six vacancies on the North and South Gauteng High Court instead of the advertised four.

Four of the six spots were filled by women.

The JSC is meeting in Cape Town this week to interview candidates for the Supreme Court of Appeal and various courts.

The high number of vacancies filled and the fact that most of them were filled by women is a significant achievement for the commission. In the past few years, it has left posts vacant in the country’s two busiest courts — apparently because there were no strong candidates to fill them.

Also, of the high courts, the Gauteng division was the worst performing when it came to gender representivity, with only 24% of its judges women.

Based on the JSC’s statistics, the appointments mean the division is now 27% female, though it still ranks low compared with most of the high courts.

The judges recommended were attorneys Wendy Hughes, Nomsa Khumalo, Daisy Molefe and Brian Mashile. Magistrate Leonie Windell and advocate Greg Wright SC, from the Johannesburg bar, were also named.

Some of the women candidates are very experienced attorneys.

Ms Molefe has been an attorney for 25 years, being admitted to practice in 1988. She has been running her own practice since. She told the JSC how tough the early years were, saying she received “no support whatsoever”. But she had her first acting stint as a judge only last year.

Ms Khumalo, who was also only offered her first acting stint last year, was admitted as an attorney in 1994.

Ms Hughes has been acting for some time in different divisions, but she was admitted in 1995 and has been running her own firm since 2001.

Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo said he had been “seeking out women” to appoint as acting judges and that the turnaround evident in yesterday’s interviews was part of a long-term plan. He said that building on the work of former judge president Bernard Ngoepe and working closely with his deputies, they had broadened the pool from which they chose acting judges so that it was not just advocates who were invited to act. Now they kept slots open for magistrates, attorneys and academics.

However, he carefully examined their work as attorneys, choosing those who had litigation experience. He also kept a close eye on their performance as acting judges.

Judge Mlambo had also set up a system of “acting judge minders”, in which more senior judges would act as mentors to the acting judges.