Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has called for the Constitution to be amended to allow Constitutional Court justices to sit on panels when adjudicating cases.
Justice Zondo’s call follows the outcry over the appointment of retired Constitutional Court justices Zak Yacoob and Johan Froneman to render support services to apex court judges.
According to Justice Zondo, if panels of three Concourt justices were to be able to dispose of new applications, that would mean that each justice would be involved in adjudicating only about a third of new applications a year whereas at the moment each one of the 11 justices has to take part in the adjudication of every new application unless there is a reason for him or her not to take part.
“In practical terms that means that, instead of all justices of the Constitutional Court having to take part in the adjudication of, for example, 300 new applications in a particular year, if panels are introduced each justice would have to take part in the adjudication of no more than 100 new applications in a year in such a case,” he said.
Justice Zondo added that this would translate to each justice having to get involved in the adjudication of less than nine new applications a month and would be a substantial reduction in the current burden.
He said the time spent weeding out unmeritorious new applications was time taken away from the apex court’s core function and it was time that was spent at a serious cost to the South African legal system.
”The problem with introducing panels at the moment is that Section 167(2) of the Constitution prescribes that ‘(a) matter before the Constitutional Court must be heard by at least eight judges’.
“As a result this provision does not allow panels of the justices of the Constitutional Court to be used to decide any matter.
”Accordingly, a constitutional amendment is needed to make it possible for the justices of the Constitutional Court to dispose of new applications in panels rather than sitting en banc (on the bench),” Justice Zondo said.
The proposal for an amendment of the Constitution was not one to do away altogether with the requirement that the Concourt justices should sit en banc when they heard and decided cases, said Justice Zondo.
”The proposal limits the departure from this requirement only in respect of the taking of decisions whether a new application should be set down for hearing or should be dismissed without a hearing. Where a new application is set down for hearing, it will still be heard by the justices the Constitutional Court sitting en banc,” he said.
Justice Zondo said the Concourt justices faced an extraordinary workload as a consequence of the en banc requirement and the failure to increase its resources.
Sunday Independent