Address by Ms Brigitte Mabandla, MP, Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development, on the Second Reading: South African Judicial Education Institute Bill In the National Assembly, Parliament, Cape Town

Madam Speaker;
Honourable Ministers and Members;
Comrades and Friends;
Ladies and Gentlemen;

The principle underlying the Bill is sanctioned by section 180 of the Constitution, which provides that national legislation may provide for any matter concerning the administration of justice that is not dealt with in the Constitution, including "training programmes for judicial officers."

Honourable Members,
Since the advent of our democracy in 1994, one of our biggest challenges was, and still remains, the transformation of our administration of justice and its institutions in order to align it with the provisions, principles and values of our supreme law, namely the Constitution. This has been an ongoing process. Already we have achieved much, but there is still much remaining to be done. However, today we can pause and reflect on, what I believe, is a significant milestone in our journey to transformation.

We are about to establish, for the first time in this country, a formal Institute that will be dedicated to the training of prospective judicial officers, as well as the further training of experienced judicial officers. This will be done in a manner that is consistent with international best practice by ensuring that the integrity of our judicial independence is not at all compromised, while creating an appropriate mechanism and opportunity for enhancing the expertise and efficiency of our judiciary.

Honourable Members,
The ground norms for the creation of this Institute were extensively discussed at a Colloquium in April 2005, and an Advisory Committee on Judicial Education, under the leadership of Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke, crafted the proposals forming the basis of this Bill. Judges, magistrates, the Judicial Service Commission, the Magistrates' Commission, the Justice Ministry, the Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development, the General Council of the Bar, the Association of Law Societies of South Africa, the National Prosecuting Authority, magistrates' organisations, the Justice College and the Society of Law Deans of South Africa were all represented on the Advisory Committee.

The Bill makes provision for the South African Judicial Education Institute to be established as a juristic person with the mandate for the judicial education and training of judicial officers and aspiring judicial officers. The governance of the Institute will vest in the Council of the Institute, consisting of representatives of all the interested parties and role-players, as well as two persons from the public not involved in the administration of justice. The objects of the Institute will be to:
(a) provide proper, appropriate and transformational judicial education and training, having due regard to both our inherited legacy and our new constitutional dispensation; and
(b) to offer judicial education and training to aspiring and newly appointed judicial officers as well as continued training for experienced judicial officers.

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development effected certain improvements to the Bill, and I would like to thank them for that. I would also like to particularly congratulate the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Honourable Yunus Carrim, on this being the first Bill dealt with in his new capacity as the chair of the Committee.

Thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development
20 November 2007