https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / News / All News RSS ← Back
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Embed Video

President Zuma and S African judiciary in call for mutual respect

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and President Jacob Zuma
Photo by GCIS
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and President Jacob Zuma

28th August 2015

By: African News Agency

SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

A meeting between the national executive and the country’s top judges held on Thursday was a practical step towards strengthening democracy in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma said.

“The meeting was characterised by a frank and cordial exchange of views conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect,” Zuma told reporters as he emerged from the meeting which lasted for around eight hours at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Advertisement

“The two delegations raised their concerns on a number of issues including statements made in the public domain from both sides which may have brought into question the integrity of both the national executive and the judiciary.”

He said the meeting had agreed “to exercise care and caution with regards to public statements and pronouncements criticising one another”.

Advertisement

Zuma said failure to do so would undermine South Africa’s global status as a bastion of democracy, tolerance, human rights and the rule of law.

“The meeting agreed on the following …. court orders should be respected and complied with. We reaffirm our obligation to the people of South Africa and to promote access to justice. We also underscore our responsibility to the people of South Africa to uphold the Constitution of the Republic,” said Zuma.

“This meeting is the foundation of future engagements to discuss issues that may arise from time to time.”

The meeting was requested by the judiciary after what they described last month as “repeated and unfounded” criticism from government.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and several cabinet ministers were in attendance. Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s delegation included Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and several judge presidents.

Mogoeng requested the meeting with government after a meeting of the country’s top judges at OR Tambo International Airport last month.

At the time, Mogoeng said the judiciary was at a point of “self-introspection”, not one of crisis.

“Many people have criticised the judiciary and we just want to assure the nation that the judiciary remains committed to carrying out its constitutional mandate and [make] certain issues are dealt with, not to attack anyone. We reiterate principle, and we will not go blow-by-blow with any personality,” he said at the time.

“One of the most important things we have done was to reiterate the critical role the law plays.”

When asked what would happen the next time the government failed to obey a court order, Mogoeng said concerns needed to be coupled with the reality. He noted there were only a few court orders that had not been respected by the government, adding that should it happen again, it would be dealt with then.

Moseneke added that it was important that the purpose of the judges’ meeting last month be clear for all.

“We want to talk to the public and reassure them that none of the judges has gone out of oath and it is important to reassure everyone that we take our jobs seriously and will continue to be impartial… We will do our work as we have to,” said Moseneke.

The July meeting followed government’s failure to obey a court order relating to the presence of controversial Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in South Africa for the African Union (AU) summit that took place in Sandton in June.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant of arrest for Bashir for alleged genocide and other crimes against the people of Sudan’s western Darfur province, and as a signatory, South Africa was obliged to arrest him. However, Bashir was allowed to leave the country despite an interim order by North Gauteng High Court Judge Hans Fabricius that he remain in the country pending a final ruling on the ICC arrest warrant.

This led to a scathing rebuke of government by that court’s Judge President Dunstan Mlambo and a full bench of the court, which demanded an explanation as to why the Sudanese president had been allowed to leave, going so far as recommending that the National Director of Public Prosecutions consider initiating criminal charges over the incident.

The furore over the Bashir incident saw criticism directed at the judiciary, with ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe reportedly accusing the judiciary of bias against the ruling party.

According to media reports, Mantashe singled out the North Gauteng High Court and the Western Cape High Court, accusing their judges of having a negative attitude towards government.

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options
Free daily email newsletter Register Now