Grahamstown High Court Judge Johan Froneman is one of State President Jacob Zuma’s preferred candidates for the four positions currently open at the Constitutional Court.
Grahamstown High Court Judge Johan Froneman is one of State President Jacob Zuma’s preferred candidates for the four positions currently open at the Constitutional Court.
The leak of the favored ConCourt candidates occurred after Zuma sent correspondence to opposition parties for comment.
The opposition parties’ report said that Zuma had proposed Froneman, Justice Chris Jafta from the Supreme Court of Appeal and North West Judge President Sisi Khampepe and Johannesburg High Court Judge Mogoeng wa Mogoeng from a shortlist of seven judges compiled by the Judicial Service Commission. No decision had been made as to who will serve on the Constitutional Court, however the leak has caused much upset among the political members involved.
According to Times Live, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya had said that Zuma was disappointed to learn that political parties had decided to operate outside established processes. He also said that it undermined the process that political parties are part of.
DA Leader Helen Zille said they had “serious doubts and questions about the current process of nominating judges through a compromised Judicial Service Commission that clearly does not work on the basis of identifiable criteria.” She said the process of selecting judges to the Constitutional Court should be based on clear criteria and be entirely transparent and open to public scrutiny.
