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The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) has noted the decision of Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo to withdraw his acceptance of the offer from President Zuma to extend his term of office.
He has served the Constitutional Court, the judiciary and the people of South Africa with great skill, ability and dignity. He has undoubtedly made an immense contribution to our jurisprudence and to the strengthening of our constitutional democracy.
We are aware that this would have been a very difficult decision for the Chief Justice to take. It is unfortunate that Government’s failure to adhere to deal with the proposed extension of term of office of the Chief Justice in a constitutionally compliant manner has created the conditions for Justice Sandile Ngcobo to take this decision.
In our legal challenge to the President’s decision to seek to extend the Chief Justice’s term of office under s.8(a) of the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Service Act we made it clear that we were not taking issue with the person of the Chief Justice. It is the use of s.8 (a), which we have argued is unconstitutional, that is the focus of our challenge in the Constitutional Court. We now await the decision of that Court in the matter that was heard last week. It will provide clarity on the process to be followed in any extension of a term of office of a Chief Justice in future.
We trust that the President will now follow the provisions of the Constitution in properly consulting with the Judicial Services Commission and the political parties represented in the National Assembly before appointing a new Chief Justice.