LISTEN | Here's what the judiciary must address, says would-be chief justice Maya

The judiciary needs to conduct an introspection to see if it is to blame for a reduction of the trust the public has in it.

Another area that needs attention is the matter of delayed judgments.

These are two of the areas that Supreme Court of Appeal president Mandisa Maya identified during her interview for the position of chief justice on Wednesday.

“Among the top worries is the 2021 Afrobarometer survey which showed that trust of the public in the judiciary has declined,” Maya said.

The survey said a majority of South Africans had expressed trust in the courts in each of the previous Afrobarometer surveys — but this trust has been weakening since the 2011 survey. Afrobarometer said the 2021 survey was the first instance where a majority (53%) of respondents indicated little or no trust in the judiciary.

Maya said this does not augur well for the rule of law.

“This is something that needs the attention of the judiciary itself to do an introspection and check if we are to blame for this change of attitude towards the institution,” Maya said.

Maya said the problem of delayed judgments has proven to be a big challenge to the  judiciary, including the Constitutional Court.

“There is significant hope we can turn things around. Firm leadership, strict implementation of set norms and standards, and strict case flow management is a cure because courts with those practices have good outputs — as the manual performance reports that the office of the chief justice prepared for us showed,” Maya said.

Maya said that, in her view, the function of chief justice was to sit in court, preside over cases and produce judgments expeditiously.

She said additional numerous and unique responsibilities that attach to the position then follow, including exercising final authority over the functioning and management of all superior courts, chairing judicial institutions and swearing in of various public officials.

Maya said the role of the present-day chief justice has evolved since the days of founding chief justices, Arthur Chaskalson and Pius Langa, and even Sandile Ngcobo — who was chief justice between 2009 and 2011.

“It is multifaceted, it is extremely demanding. But it is possible to juggle all the many functions which it entails because there is ample support around a South African chief justice in the office of the chief justice, the heads of court and the judicial officers themselves,” Maya said.

 She said other duties of a chief justice included representing the SA judiciary in local and international judicial formations.

“She is the face of the institution.”

Maya said whoever is appointed bears the responsibility of ensuring that the institution remains strong, retains its integrity and firmly executes its role of protecting and promoting the constitution and the law so that the public is guaranteed access to justice.

“It must be someone who is equipped to inspire stability and cohesion within the judiciary itself and inspire public confidence in the judiciary. It is not perfect but there is still an efficient system of administration in place.”

The interview continues.

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