President Cyril Ramaphosa has published the names of the qualifying candidates for the next Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa.
In a statement on Monday, the President thanked members of the public for responding to his invitation to participate in the process of nominating the next Chief Justice.
“The process began on 16 September 2021 when President Ramaphosa called on South Africans to nominate suitably qualified candidates for this critical position as Head of the Judiciary of South Africa. This invitation was intended to promote transparency and enable public participation,” the Presidency said.
The submission process closed at midnight on 01 October 2021.
“In response to the call for public participation, the public made 148 submissions which consisted of 25 names. Some of these individuals featured in more than one submission. Of the 25 names, only eight nominations met the criteria as set out in the call by the President,” the Presidency said.
The eight names that qualified for nomination as set out in the criteria are, in alphabetical order:
- Judge President John Hlophe
- Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga
- Justice Mandisa Maya
- Dr Wallace Amos Mgoqi
- Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane
- Judge President Dunstan Mlambo
- Adv. Alan Nelson, SC
- Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo
The biographies of the nominees are available on www.thepresidency.gov.za for inspection by the public.
South Africans are now invited to submit in writing any objections they may have regarding the nominees to angeline@presidency.gov.za and OSewpaul@justice.gov.za by 5pm on Friday, 15 October 2021.
The Nominations Panel, which is chaired by Judge Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, will consider objections before submitting a shortlist of three to five names to the President.
The Panel is required to report to the President by Friday, 29 October 2021 and its Terms of Reference are also available on the Presidency website.
Source: South African Government News Agency