By Zuko Komisa
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) announced at a meeting on Monday night that it would ask President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe.
Ramaphosa will then have the discretion under the constitution to suspend Hlophe or not.
“This is following the decision of the JSC on 25 August 2021 made in terms of section 20 (3) of the Judicial Service Commission Act 9 of 1994 that Judge President Hlophe is guilty of gross misconduct,”
According to spokeswoman attorney Sesi Baloyi, the JSC’s ruling was unanimous.
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By a majority vote in August of last year, the JSC determined that Hlophe had engaged in serious wrongdoing and should be reported to parliament for possible impeachment.
MEDIA STATEMENT: JUDICIAL SERVICE COMMISSION, 25 July 2022
— RSAJudiciary (@OCJ_RSA) July 25, 2022
At its meeting on Monday 25 July 2022 deliberated and resolved to advise the President to suspend Judge President Hlophe in terms of section 177 (3) of the Constitution. View image for full statement. pic.twitter.com/QrckcERgic
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The decision was in response to a 2008 complaint made by all of the then-justices of the Constitutional Court that Hlophe had inappropriately attempted to sway the verdict of cases that were up for decision involving corruption allegations against former president Jacob Zuma.
According to the constitution, the president can only suspend a judge “on the advice of” the JSC and if they have been identified as the target of one of the two steps in the removal process, which includes a finding of gross misconduct, incapacity, or gross incompetence by the JSC and a call for removal from parliament supported by a two-thirds resolution.
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