FRIDAY BRIEFING | An absent Chief Justice and a split Bench: Why ConCourt is in crisis | News24

An absent Chief Justice and a split Bench: Why the Constitutional Court is in crisis 

Earlier this year, after disastrous JSC interviews and while the Constitutional Court was still deciding on whether to send Jacob Zuma to jail for failing to appear before the Zondo Commission, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng made a low-key exit by going on long leave, effectively ending his term. This has left the Constitutional Court already under continuous attack rudderless.  

In recent weeks, concerns have been raised about whether the Constitutional Court is unravelling in light of some recent judgments. 

This was especially true in the Zuma’s rescission application ruling. It highlighted how the leadership void at the apex court is fuelling increasingly acrimonious division on its Bench.

In this week’s Friday Briefing, we examine how the Constitutional Court appears to be in free fall.

Casac’s Lawson Naidoo and Dan Mafora examine how vacancies at the court and the Chief Justice’s absence have added to the Court’s challenges, which is already struggling with a heavy case load. 

News24 columnist Serjeant at the Bar asks whether the Constitutional Court’s recent majority ruling on Zuma’s rescission application saved it from burial.

Finally, University of Limpopo Professor Omphemetse Sibanda writes that the Constitutional Court needs to get itself in order, especially as politically sensitive cases might soon be heading its way. 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your long weekend.

Best, 

Vanessa Banton 

Opinions editor.  

The ConCourt in free fall: The leadership vacuum must be rectified 

The Constitutional Court’s stellar record has taken a bit of a beating lately after it had to reissue judgments and orders after errors were subsequently discovered. Lawson Naidoo and Dan Mafora write that the leadership vacuum at the Court needs to be rectified soon if it is going to steer through its current challenges

Unravelling of the Constitutional Court and its forays outside the law

A recent minority judgment on former president Jacob Zuma’s rescission application is  merely a forerunner of a jurisprudential descent into legal chaos at the Constitutional Court, writes Serjeant at the Bar.

No leadership and overreaching: The Constitutional Court’s existential crisis 

Omphemetse Sibanda analyses three recent Constitutional Court rulings, writing that it needs to get itself in order, especially if it is to deal with politically sensitive matters going forward. 

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