Cape Law Society concerned at attacks on judiciary

The Cape Law Society is concerned at the flurry of attacks on the judiciary after a ruling by the High Court that National Prosecuting Authority Shaun Abrahams should vacate his seat.

“Leaders of public organisations must know that some sections of society will accept that which is said by leaders as true and so must be careful not to abuse their role in society by attacking the judiciary in our country‚” said Cape Law Society (CLS) president Lulama Lobi.

The society said it regretted statements attributed to ANC Women’s League president Bathabile Dlamini who appeared to suggest that the court was “lobbied” before it ruled in favour of Freedom Under Law‚ Corruption Watch and the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac).

“The way our judiciary carries itself‚ it shows that it is being lobbied‚” she said at a rally in Durban.

“No serious observer will believe that Minister Bathabile Dlamini has evidence to support her claims for we believe that if she had such evidence‚ she would surely have shared this with her lawyers or made the evidence public‚” Lobi said in a statement on Thursday.

“Leaders of public organisations must know that some sections of society will accept that which is said by leaders as true and so must be careful not to abuse their role in society by attacking the judiciary in our country. Attacks on the judiciary undermine the standing of the courts in the minds of the people.”

CLS said words such as “judicial coup” and “judicial overreach” had been used by some commentators after the judgment which amounted to an attempt to interfere with the independence of the judiciary.

“The CLS calls on all those who have complaints against the judiciary to report such complaints to the Judicial Services Commission. A complainant will be required to present evidence to show a prima facie case of misconduct to warrant an investigation.”

The courts were not infallible‚ added the CLS‚ hence there were provisions for appeals and reviews to challenge court decisions‚ with decorum to ensure that the dignity of the courts and the judicial system were upheld.