Civil society organisations do not want the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to proceed with any new interviews for judicial appointments until a code of conduct for commissioners is published and until the criteria to assess suitability of candidates for appointment is stipulated.

In a letter to commissioners, the organisations said the recent JSC interviews for the position of Chief Justice left the public disturbed.

The JSC has recently been accused of trying to influence President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision in selecting a Chief Justice.

“Far from assisting and protecting the courts to ensure their independence, impartiality, dignity, accessibility and effectiveness, as the JSC is constitutionally enjoined to do, these most recent interviews can only have diminished public confidence in the administration of justice,” the organisations said.

The criteria must explain what constituted “appropriately qualified” and “fit and proper”, they added.

The next round of interviews is scheduled between April 4 and 8. The organisations have asked for the criteria by no later than March 8.

The organisations pointed out that over the years leaders of the judiciary, the organised legal profession, academics, civil society and even the JSC itself, had identified the need for specified criteria for judicial appointments and stipulated conduct obligations.

The organisations also noted that several candidates being considered for Chief Justice had also shown support for the development of criteria ahead of the scheduled April round of interviews and that the JSC spokesperson had publicly confirmed that there would be a workshop intended to develop criteria before the next interviews.

“For these reasons we imagine that there will be no difficulty in the JSC giving us the undertaking for which we ask. In so doing the JSC will provide critical reassurance to the public that they will no longer be required to bear witness to compromised interview processes and will allow for confidence in the appointment process to be restored,” said the organisations.

The organisations are the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Corruption Watch, Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, Defend Our Democracy Campaign, Freedom Under Law, the Helen Suzman Foundation, Lawyers for Human Rights, the Legal Resources Centre and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.