Are Judges in South Africa Under Threat or Do They Complain Too Much?

This week, South African President Jacob Zuma will sit down with its chief justice for an unprecedented, potentially watershed discussion.

South African President Jacob Zuma (R) and Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng (L) at the inauguration ceremony of Zuma, in Pretoria, South Africa, on May 24, 2014. Siphiwe Sibeko/AP

This week, South African President Jacob Zuma will sit down with its chief justice for an unprecedented, potentially watershed discussion.

It would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall to observe how the country’s two most important constitutional office-holders handle a very sensitive conversation about a very delicate topic: judicial independence.

The meeting, set for Aug. 27, was requested by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng after an extraordinary meeting of senior judges. They are concerned by what they call the “general gratuitous criticism” of the judiciary by members of the South African Cabinet.

The judges were quick to indicate that they welcomed criticism. But, they said, it should be specific and clear. Mogoeng told the media that the rule of law was the cornerstone of South Africa’s constitutional democracy and that everyone was bound by the constitution and the law. “As a nation, we ignore it at our peril,” the judges said in a statement.

As a nation, we ignore [the rule of law] at our peril.

— South African senior judges