In what is seen as a major victory for the independence of the judiciary, President Thabo Mbeki has announced that controversial laws impacting on judicial reform will be processed only after the buy-in of judges into a new policy on the transformation of the judiciary.

Judge Lex Mpati, deputy president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, in a comment in a paper sent out by the Centre for the Study of Violence that traces the story of the controversial ‘justice Bills’, suggests that a balance between gender and race on the one hand and competence, integrity and skill on the other is required to meet transformation objectives.

Concern has been raised over the validity of hundreds of Labour Court judgments after the government conceded legislation that created them was unconstitutional.

Controversial draft legislation aimed at overhauling the structure of the judiciary may have been shelved – although this is denied by the Justice Ministry – after the intervention of President Thabo Mbeki.

Another voice has been raised against the controversial Constitution 14th Amendment Bill and the Superior Courts Bill, which have been widely-criticised as threats to the independence of the judiciary, reports Legalbrief Today.

Judge of Appeal Louis Harms, writing in his personal capacity, attempts to bring some clarity to the murky issue of a code of ethics for judges and its enforcement in an article on the Business Day site.

In its comprehensive submission to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice in relation to the Constitutional Fourteenth Amendment Bill and the Superior Courts Bill, the General Council of the Bar makes the point several times that it is concerned about the obvious attempt in the proposed legislation to give the executive control over the judiciary and the running of the courts, writes E-Brief News.

There is a sudden willingness by the normally inflexible President Thabo Mbeki to tolerate contrary views and even change his mind, writes William Saunderson-Meyer in his Jaundiced Eye column.

The General Council of the Bar of SA in its submissions to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice in relation to the Constitutional Fourteenth Amendment Bill and the Superior Courts Bill, raises concern over the enormous powers the proposed legislation will vest in the President to appoint judges, writes E-Brief News.

The General Council of the Bar of SA has urged the government to rethink two controversial justice Bills, labelling them ‘incursions into the independence of the judiciary’, writes E-Brief News.

In an editorial speculating on the future of Western Cape Judge President, John Hlophe, Business Day says the Hlophe case – he is alleged to have received a monthly payment of R10 000 from a financial services company – is why the proposed assets register for judges is important, as are proposals for a complaints procedure against judges.

The deadline for comment on draft legislation proposing changes to certain judicial powers and functions – the Superior Courts Bill and the Constitution 14th Amendment Bill – has been extended indefinitely, according to a statement from Parliament’s Justice Committee, reports Business Day.

The department of justice seems set on abolishing labour courts. That is the message from Cosatu over the Superior Courts Bill which is currently in parliament. According to Prakashnee Govender of Cosatu's parliamentary office, the 2003 Bill forced labour to agree to the abolition of labour courts. In exchange, government said it would cater for specialisation for labour in the High Court system.

Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de Lange’s defence of two justice Bills that many claim would harm judicial independence has come under fire for ignoring the views of eminent jurists, reports Business Day.

The media might have fabricated fears reportedly expressed by judges about pending constitutional amendments affecting the court system, Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de Lange has told Parliament's Security Select and Constitutional Affairs Committee, according to News24.

How does one tread the fine line between holding members of the judiciary to account while at the same time ensuring their independence, is a question put by Judith February, an attorney and head of The Institute for Democracy in SA’s political information and monitoring service in a Business Day analysis.

The International Bar Association has released a damning report challenging claims that controversial draft laws on the judiciary pose no threat to judicial independence in SA, the Sunday Times reports.

The Constitution is threatened with being downgraded to a mere Act of Parliament, DA leader Tony Leon has stated, according to a report on the Mail and Guardian site.

Judge Jan Steyn, who since 1990 has served as an appeal judge of the highest courts in Botswana, in Swaziland and in Lesotho, calls on President Thabo Mbeki to back off the proposed constitutional amendments that he argues in an analysis in Business Day will undermine the independence of the judiciary.

Tension around the Superior Courts Bill and the 14th Constitution Amendment Bill, which legal experts say will erode the independence of the judiciary, has surfaced in Parliament’s Justice Committee when the ANC clashed with DA MPs over a report from the judiciary, reports Business Day.

Writing on the Mail & Guardian Online site, Theunis Roux, director at the SA Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law, examines the arguments for and against the draft Superior Courts Bill and the draft Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Bill.

The Department of Justice seems set on abolishing labour courts. That is the message from Cosatu over the Superior Courts Bill which is currently in parliament.

President Thabo Mbeki is being poorly briefed he believes, as he claims in a Sunday Times report recently with regard to the controversial judicial Bills: ‘…all we want to do is ensure that electricity bills are paid and judges have laptops and computers’. As John Kane-Berman, CE of the SA Institute of the Race Relations, points out in a column in Business Day this week: ‘You don’t amend a Constitution to provide these things.’

The controversial judicial Bills being pushed by the Department of Justice should not be rushed and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla should listen to the concerns of judges, says President Thabo Mbeki, according to a report in The Mercury.

Human rights lawyer George Bizos has called on the legal profession, NGOs, civil society and the media to speak out on the judiciary’s behalf against the Constitution 14th Amendment Bill, which, among other things, proposes that the Justice Minister should be responsible for the administration of justice, reports The Mercury.

Leading human rights lawyer George Bizos has criticised the plan to amend the Constitution to push through what the government calls judicial reform, saying the proposed laws show a desire for more political control by the ANC, according to a report on the IoL site.

The Human Rights Committee of the General Council of the Bar, based in Johannesburg, is hosting a one-day conference on Friday (February 17) on the topic of The Justice Bills, Judicial Independence and the Restructuring of the Courts, reports Legalbrief Today.

It was important to move with speed and finally adopt a law dealing with a code of conduct and a register of financial interests for judges, Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla said, according to a report in The Mercury.

In an article in the Sunday Times examining the controversial Draft Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Bill, which, together with the Superior Courts Bill is before Parliament, Shameela Seedat, legislation analyst at the Institute for a Democratic South Africa’s Political Information and Monitoring Service, suggests the government’s judicial objectives could be met without changes to the Constitution.

The draft constitutional amendment seeking to change aspects of judicial functioning amounted to interference with the independence of the courts, the General Council of the Bar has said, according to a report on the News24 site.

This year is expected to be an important one for the judiciary, according to a column in the Mail & Guardian Online. Several important trials are ahead – most notably the rape and corruption trials of former Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

The redefinition of the scope of the Constitutional Court’s authority to make it the final court of appeal in all matters – one of many proposed constitutional amendments tabled by the Justice Department – has not been thought through, according to Judge Carol Lewis, of the Supreme Court of Appeal, in an analysis of the issue in Business Day.

In his weekly newsletter, DA leader Tony Leon says the controversial 14th Constitution Amendment Bill would, if passed, give 'power over the administration and budgets of courts to the Minister of Justice, effectively putting judges at her mercy', reports the Mail & Guardian Online.

The Parliamentary Justice Portfolio Committee is now deliberating on two Bills concerning the courts and the judiciary. One will amend the Constitution on matters relating to the judiciary and the other sets out the details of the restructuring and rationalisation of the High Courts. These are important bills that affect the place of the judiciary in our democracy and the ability of the courts to deliver justice effectively.

The abolition of Labour Courts and their incorporation into the High Courts was discussed in Parliament's Justice Committee, with the Department of Justice arguing that due to the high volume of cases at the Labour Courts it would make sense to incorporate it into the mainstream system so that it would have access to a wider choice of judges, reports SABC News.

No malice was intended when gazetting draft constitutional amendments for public comment over the Christmas holiday period, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has said, according to the Mail & Guardian.

Top judges are concerned about government attempts to push through what they consider to be 'sinister' changes to the Constitution that they say undermine judicial independence, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

The government is pressing ahead with legislation that will bar courts from suspending the coming into force of an Act of Parliament, the Department of Justice has confirmed, reports IoL.

The government had decided to shelve several controversial Bills dealing with the transformation of the judiciary, a top judge stated, according to a report in The Mercury.

While Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla is moving to defuse tension between her department and senior judges over new legislative proposals, she has declined to rule out the possibility of constitutional changes if they are seen as necessary to facilitate the passage of new laws governing the judiciary, reports the Mail & Guardian.

Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla is meeting judges and academics at a colloquium this week to discuss four Bills that, as reported in previous issues of Legalbrief Today, have raised concerns across the board about judicial independence.

The Law Society of SA (LSSA) has announced its concern about the proposed judicial education amendments.

Concern is growing among judges – media reports suggest some are threatening to resign – over proposed new legislation that could give politicians the power to conduct witch-hunts, according to The Witness.

Draft legislation in the form of the Judicial Conduct Tribunals Bill, the Judicial Service Commission Act (amended), the SA National Justice College Draft Bill and the Superior Courts Bill include what a Sunday Times report says are plans for a disciplinary tribunal to ‘try’ and punish judges and a government college to train them.

Parliament’s Justice Committee has called for public submissions on a wide range of judicial legislative amendments, according to a report in Business Day.

Journalists could face a fine or a five-year jail sentence should they wilfully or negligently publish confidential information about a judge, according to a proposed law, reports The Mercury.

SA is getting closer to a wide-ranging law that will provide for a complaints mechanism against judges and magistrates accused of misconduct, according to a report in The Mercury.

Appeal Court judges have objected to the manner in which a proposed restructuring of the Labour Court system could affect Appeal Court operations, reports Business Day.

A register in which judges will have to declare their financial and business interests, which is on the agenda of Parliament's Justice Committee, is expected to raise heated debate as the move is likely to be seen as interference with judicial independence, reports Business Day.