Finishing touches applied to judges’ code of conduct

or her conscience, because a judge is only accountable to the law”.

Judges must also “not pay any heed to political parties or pressure groups, and perform all professional duties free from outside influence”.

However, regulations on the disclosure by judges of their business and financial interests are expected to be finalised only by August, the chairman of the committee, ANC MP Jonas Sibanyoni, said yesterday.

The committee, known as the ad hoc committee on a Code of Judicial Conduct and Regulations on Judges’ Disclosure of Registrable Interests, asked state law adviser Johan de Lange yesterday to finalise the code, so that the committee can take it to its National Council of Provinces counterpart for approval.

Once adopted by the committees, it will be sent to the National Assembly for approval.

The code, which originated in the UN’s Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, was designed to, among other things, ensure the independence, impartiality, dignity, accessibility and effectiveness of judges.

The Judicial Service Commission Amendment Act of 2008 instructed the chief justice, in co-operation with the justice minister, to compile a code of conduct that must be tabled in Parliament for approval.

The act describes the code as a “prevailing standard of judicial conduct which judges must adhere to”, and states that breaches of the code will be considered as acts of misconduct.

The code lays out rules of transparency in courts and on fair trials, and on the diligence expected of judges in performing their duties.

Article 5 of the code, which deals with the honour of judges, dictates that a judge “must avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his or her activities” and at all times, “also in relation to extra-judicial conduct”, comply with the law of the land.

Article 7 demands that a judge must “personally avoid and dissociate him- or herself from comments or conduct by persons subject to his or her control that are racist, sexist or otherwise manifest discrimination in violation of the equality guaranteed by the constitution”.

Article 12 states that a judge may not belong to any political party or secret organisation, nor, “unless it is necessary for the discharge of judicial office”, become involved in political controversy or activity.

The code also looks at conditions under which judges must recuse themselves from cases, the extra-judicial activities of judges on active service as well as extra-judicial income, and the activities of judges discharged from active service.

Sibanyoni said the regulations on judges’ disclosure of registrable interests would be passed “before the end of August” as the term for the ad hoc committee ends on August 14.

“We will be working very hard to finalise it before that time,” Sibanyoni said.

The rules were taking longer to finalise because a number of concerns had been raised on why judges and their spouses should disclose certain interests.

“We have to think very deeply on whether we want spouses to disclose their interests, and whether judges appointed before the new dispensation should also disclose their interests,” he said.