One of the people vying for a position on the Gauteng High Court bench has apologised for being part of apartheid's justice system, which, he said, had "inhumane laws".

Advocate Jacobus Johannes Strijdom SC, who prosecuted public violence cases during the apartheid era, apologised on Wednesday before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which is conducting interviews for prospective judges.

Strijdom's interview, however, was mostly about transformation and his role in prosecuting public violence cases.

He told the commissioners he played a transformation role in 1986 when he was involved in the training of black prosecutors and magistrates. He said some of the prosecutors he had trained were now judges.

He said he had worked with the now Judge President of the North West, Monica Leeuw, and the outgoing Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, who was a prosecutor in the former Bophuthatswana at the time.

Strijdom was asked if he had ever publicly apologised for his role during apartheid.

"I trained one of the judges who is now in the court of appeal. That was in 1986 when there were little black prosecutors and magistrates appointed in the Republic. After 1994, those people we trained became judges. I've made a contribution for transformation on the bench," he said.

But Julius Malema, who is a member of the JSC, said there was no transformation in 1986.

Responding, Strijdom said: "I know there was no transformation, but we gave black people opportunities at that stage, so when transformation came into place, they were already trained and experienced."

Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo brought in the issue of age, asking why the JSC should recommend Strijdom for a permanent position when he was already 66 years old.

"You are coming when you have spent your energy in private practice and, in fact, some judges take retirement at 65," he asked.

But Strijdom said he believed he could still make a contribution, adding that he could work until the age of 75.

JSC member China Dodovu questioned Strijdom about concessions he made during an interview before the commission in 2018, where he stated that he remembered how people as young as 14 were detained for public violence during the apartheid era.

Asked if he remembered some of the cases he prosecuted, Strijdom said he could not remember specific cases.

He said he regretted that he was part of the system and that most of the laws were "inhumane".

He added: "Unfortunately, I was a prosecutor, I had to abide, I had to do my job, I had to be loyal to the law… but I can also say that in a lot of those public violence cases, at the end of the day, not all of them went on trial, most of them were withdrawn."

Dodovu pushed him for more answers, asking if he had ever apologised to those he prosecuted.

Strijdom said he had never apologised, but since he started to practice as an advocate, he had regrets about the past.

Malema said this was an opportunity for Strijdom to apologise - if he was willing to do so.

Strijdom said, "I apologise that I was part of the apartheid system and was part of apartheid laws, that we applied those laws, and that I was one of the instruments to apply that law. I apologise to those people."

Strijdom added that he regretted not doing enough to assist people. He said he saw how people in the townships suffered.

"I saw the circumstances under which they lived and, personally, I did nothing about that, and I regret that."

The interviews continue.