Judges aim for judicial independence 
9 July 2009

Appeal judges should show more courtesy to lower court judges whose rulings they criticised, a judicial conference has resolved.

This was one of the measures adopted at the end of a three-day conference as judges seek programmes to enhance access to justice, eliminate the delay in the criminal and civil justice systems and foster the spirit of collegiality among judges.

The judges, meeting near Pretoria, also said the judiciary should be empowered to administer the courts and its own budget. The judiciary would work with other branches of the government to develop a model of court administration that best reflected the principle of judicial independence.

There have been a number of judgments from the Supreme Court of Appeal which seemed to be unduly harsh on the judge whose judgment was being reviewed.

One such judgment is that of the appeal by the national director of public prosecutions versus Jacob Zuma in January, about the correctness of the decision to prosecute Zuma for fraud and corruption. The appeal court said a substantial part of Judge Chris Nicholson 's judgment in the high court dealt with the question of political meddling, and "he changed the rules of the game, took his eyes off the ball and red carded not only players but also spectators”.

In its declaration at the end of the conference, the judges said appellate courts played an educational role and would treat judges whose decision they were considering with dignity.

“Judges should bear in mind that courtesy and collegiality towards colleagues are not merely good manners but indispensable attributes of a judge, ” Chief Justice Pius Langa said.

The judges also expressed their commitment to respect the principle of separation of powers, promote the continuing transformation of the judiciary and uphold the principles of accountability, responsiveness and openness.

The judges said they were committed to the principle of a single judiciary in SA as envisaged in the constitution, which vested the judicial authority in the courts and which set out a hierarchy of courts from the Constitutional Court to the magistrate 's courts.

The judges also welcomed the commitment of the executive to the independence of the judiciary and its willingness to support the judiciary in the fulfillment of its constitutional obligation.

The judges said they would take steps to eliminate the backlogs in the civil and criminal justice systems and develop and implement effective judicial case management rules.

“All judgments should be finalised without undue delay. Recess periods do not constitute leave periods but are administrative recess periods to enable judges to write reserved judgments and catch up on their administrative work. Judges will ordinarily take leave during recess periods when their reserved judgments have been written, court preparation complete.”

The judiciary resolved to assist Langa in finalising a code of conduct for judges as required by legislation.

Langa said it was the first time that Zuma addressed the congregation of judges since he became president and what he said was inspiring.

“We will have a lot of interaction with the president, ” Langa said.

Ernest Mabuza, www.businessday.co.za