Acting Speaker, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa clearly sets out the powers of Parliament, the President and the national executive, and the courts. We are confident that each of these bodies respects the powers assigned to them by the Constitution, as well as the powers and responsibilities of the other two arms of government.
The Constitution, in section 42, enjoins Parliament to ensure that it plays its role in scrutinising and overseeing executive action. With regard to the judiciary, government continues to enact legislation and implement programmes to enhance the independence within their context of the separation of powers embedded in the Constitution.
One of the significant safeguards against encroachment is the Constitutional Court which, as the highest court in the land, is entrusted with the important function of ensuring that each branch, including the judiciary itself, does not overstep its boundary.
The Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Bill and the Superior Courts Bill, which are currently being considered by this Parliament, are the latest legislative measures introduced by government with a view to strengthening the judicial arm of the state to exercise this delicate act of balancing the interplay among the branches of state.
These Bills in the main seek to provide a constitutional basis for a separate judicial governance framework, under the Chief Justice as head of the judiciary, to give full effect to our separation of powers, which is essential for the rule of law. Pending the finalisation of these Bills, the President has, through a proclamation published in August 2010, declared the Office of the Chief Justice as a separate entity from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, thereby paving the way for the envisaged judicial governance framework.
I am pleased that Parliament approved the code of judicial conduct in August this year, which was published in the Government Gazette on Thursday, 18 October 2012. The code will go a long way in ensuring that the judiciary is responsive to the needs and aspirations of a democratic South African society. Thank you.