Yesterday, the Constitutional Court (the Court) in Nkabinde and Another v Judicial Service Commission and Others, ruled that a provision in the Judicial Service Commission Act meets constitutional muster. In making the ruling, the Court dismissed the application filed by Justices Nkabinde and Jafta to rescind an order previously made by the same Court. The Court further underlined that it is in the interests of justice that the complaint against Western Cape Judge President Hlophe be brought to finality.

The decision is the last hurdle which has been met and all but clears the way for the setting up of a tribunal to conduct disciplinary hearings into Judge Hlophe’s conduct. This, after a complaint of gross misconduct was laid before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against Justice Hlophe by all the then Justices of the Constitutional Court, including the subjects of yesterday’s ruling, Jafta and Nkabinde. They alleged that Justice Hlophe had acted improperly in trying to sway their judgments in matters with a direct bearing on the corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma. Justices Jafta and Nkabinde would have provided crucial evidence of this impropriety but they, instead, challenged the lawfulness of the tribunal that the JSC would have established.  Eight years and numerous legal challenges later, it seems that this ruling will bring the matter to finality.