Johannesburg – Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has rejected claims that judges are being influenced to reach specific verdicts, saying he wanted to share his concerns about the allegations with President Jacob Zuma.“There have been suggestions that in certain cases… judges have been prompted to arrive at a predetermined result. This is a notion that we reject,” Mogoeng said.
He was speaking at a media briefing held at the Intercontinental Hotel at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday, following public criticism of the judiciary by members of government and the ruling party.
It was previously reported that Police Minister Nathi Nhleko told senior managers of the Independent Police Investigating Directorate that there were “interesting” elements in the judiciary who “meet with characters to produce certain judgments”.
He did not mention any specific cases.
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe, after an alliance summit last week, expressed concern about the judiciary interfering with the executive and the legislature, in what he termed “judicial overreach”.
“There are already commonly expressed concerns that the judgments of certain regions and judges are consistently against the state, which creates an impression of negative bias,” Mantashe said
In response to these claims, Mogoeng said there were avenues the public could use to lay complaints if they were unsatisfied with judgments or suspected the judiciary of wrongdoing.
“In a case where a judge does overstep… the general public, litigants, aggrieved or interest parties should refer the matter to the judicial conduct committee of the judicial service commission,” he said.
“The rule of law is the cornerstone of our constitutional democracy. In simple terms everybody… is subject to and bound by the Constitution and the law,” Mogoeng said.
PH
