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The first outcome of an ANC friendly, executive-minded Judicial Service Commission is yesterday's decision to hold closed hearings on the dispute involving Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe.

This decision is extremely regrettable - Judge Hlophe stands accused of exerting improper influence on Constitutional Court judges Chris Jafta and Bess Nkabinde in a case that involved President Jacob Zuma. This is clearly a matter of significant importance to the public, and section 9(3) of the Judicial Services Commission Act provides for JSC meetings to be held in public in such circumstances.

This fact was verified by the South Gauteng High Court on March 31st, when it ruled that the initial hearings on this matter ought to be heard in public. The circumstances now are essentially no different, so it is difficult to see how the decision to hold these hearings behind closed doors could be appropriate.

The ANC has showed that it will go to great lengths to subvert the JSC by turning it into a partisan ANC-dominated body that can, in turn, make decisions that further the ANC's own internal interests. Over the last six weeks the ANC has quite deliberately garnered itself a majority on the JSC. It is quite clear now that part of that process was the appointment of executive-minded, partisan commissioners to the JSC, and the use of underhanded tactics to replace the opposition's only commissioner from the National Council of Provinces with an ANC MP.

Now it is essential that the JSC commits to releasing a record of these hearings publically. Anything less than that would be an abrogation of its constitutionally mandated responsibilities as an independent and accountable body.