South Africa

The conclusion of the Hlope incident is unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. Firstly, in a country like SA, questions of race need to be met head on and dealt with in a transparent manner. This is especially true when the controversy swirls around people in positions of authority where the respect and confidence of the public is of paramount importance. Without a satisfactory conclusion to the allegations and counter allegations that were made, the public will always have reservations towards Judge Hlope and the Advocates involved.

Secondly, this sets a bad precedent for how similar problem will be dealt with in future - ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away. Chief Justice Langa may have dodged the bullet this time but these kinds of problems have a tendency to fester and get worse, not better with time. Witness the lastest salvo which has come from Judge Siraj Desai who has claimed the General Council of the Bar (representing advocates) has repeatedly nominated “backward white men” for positions on the Bench who were not properly committed to transformation.

One hopes that Judge Langa's new mechanism for dealing with such incidencts will be better than the approach taken so far -

The report was drawn up by five judges, mandated by the Judges President, in the wake of the first round of racism claims made by Judge John Hlophe, head of the Cape Town High Court. The committee had to consider Judge Hlophe’s allegations but extended their brief to other provinces also.

 

The report, approved by the heads of court earlier this week, notes that a formal mechanism to deal with complaints against judges by the public should be passed by Parliament. Until then, any complaints by the public or the legal profession should be directed to the Judicial Service Commission or to the Judge President of the division in which the judge concerned works.

 

To me it sounds a little too much like passing the buck, but we'll have to wait and see what comes out of it...