Deputy Speaker and hon Members of Parliament, this was tabled as the Code of Judicial Conduct and Regulations on Judges' Disclosure of Registrable Interests. In the beginning there was a joint committee consisting of the ad hoc committee of the National Assembly and the ad hoc committee for the National Council of Provinces. Later on, it was realised that the work would be easier if the joint committee split and then the ad hoc committee of the National Assembly continued with the work.
I am, today, presenting the one portion where we were dealing with the code of judges' conduct or judicial conduct. The public hearings have been held, completed and finalised. What we are dealing with here is the first part that deals with the code of judges' conduct. The second part that deals with the regulations on judges' disclosure of registrable interests is still outstanding, the reason being that there are discussions between the heads of courts and the Chief Justice, and it is expected that some consensus will be reached between the two.
Now for the interest of this House, what are we talking about here? We are talking about the code which is intended to assist every judge in dealing with ethical and professional issues and to inform the public about the judicial ethos of the Republic. Further on, it deals with judicial independence, namely that a judge must uphold the independence and integrity of the judiciary. Further on, it also deals with the need that a judge should act honourably.
There is also a section that deals with equality, namely that a judge must, at all times, give special attention to the right to equality before the law, and the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. There are also sections dealing with transparency, fair trial and diligence, namely that a judge must perform all assigned judicial duties diligently. This code of conduct also deals with association, namely that a judge must not belong to any political party or a secret organisation. There is also a section that deals with extra judicial income. I must say that sometimes it happens that a judge will be doing some work and receive royalties for legal books written or edited. The code then says that there must be written consent from the Minister, acting in consultation with the Chief Justice.
I would like to thank all the members of the ad hoc committee who participated in this committee. I must say that they made my work, as the Chairperson, very easy. It was unanimously agreed that this code of conduct should be adopted. As a result, I hereby table this for consideration. Ngiyathokoza, inaga ayilale [Peace be with you]. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
Declarations of vote:
Mr Speaker, the judges' code of conduct which we are approving here today is a very long time coming. It should have been approved within four months of the coming into operation of the Judicial Services Commission Amendment Act of 2008. Nevertheless, we welcome the approval of the judges' code of conduct today, which will, hopefully, bring more certainty to the process of disciplinary action against judges for misconduct.
The separation by the justice committee of the code from the judges' declaration of interests will allow us more time to consider the submissions of judges in that regard and the implications it has for the disclosure of interest of spouses of judges, as well as retired judges in particular.
The code is necessary in terms of Section 12(1) of the Judicial Services Commission Amendment Act, in order to define what amounts to misconduct for which judges can be removed in terms of Section 177(1) of the Constitution. There has been much said about the necessity of this code being approved prior to the Judicial Services Commission being able to take action against a judge. We have been quite mystified by this as it is trite that legislation cannot be retrospective. How then are complaints lodged before the approval of this code to be dealt with?
One of the most obvious examples is Judge Motata. Judge Motata thought that he would exploit this perceived gap to apply to court for an order that he cannot face the disciplinary hearing because the code has not been passed and cannot operate retrospectively. We are delighted at Judge Nepgen's ruling about a week ago, that it is ludicrous to suggest that because there is no code of conduct defining gross misconduct, no disciplinary action can be taken against the judge until such time as the code is approved.
He said that this contention is so contrary to the expressed provision of Section 177(1) of the Constitution that it cannot be upheld. We sincerely trust that the JSC will now expedite the hearing of this matter in particular, which has been dragging on since 2008.
Recent reports suggest that this code is prohibiting judges from accepting remuneration other than their salary as a judge. This is incorrect. The Judicial Service Commission Amendment Act already provides for this, except in the event of royalties for books written or edited by judges and with the expressed permission of the Minister, in consultation with the Chief Justice; it is not new in terms of this code.
The DA is particularly pleased that, despite some lively discussion on this matter, it was agreed by the committee that acting judges should, like judges, also not belong to a political party. We are strongly of the view that the same considerations apply to acting judges as to judges and if judges are not permitted to be members of political parties, neither should acting judges. Acting judges are fulfilling the same role as a judge and we believe that it is in the interest of justice that the perception of their independence must be maintained. The DA therefore supports this code of conduct. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker, it is very important that, when a country wants to be successful, it must protect and nurture its various institutions. One of those institutions is the judiciary. We can be proud of our judiciary in South Africa, and the majority of judges have set an impeccable record of good conduct. Without an independent and trustworthy judiciary, there cannot be economic growth in South Africa or any other country.
We must realise that South African policy-makers find themselves at a loss on how to promote economic growth. Perhaps the starting point is to realise how little control we, in fact, have, but we do have control over our various institutions. Let us support and protect the judiciary at all costs. This code of conduct is an attempt to strengthen the judiciary and Cope shall support it. Thank you.
Code of Judicial Conduct accordingly approved.