The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) announced on Monday that it had recommended Gauteng High Court judge Phillip Coppin, Western Cape High Court judge Elizabeth Baartman and KwaZulu-Natal High Court judge Piet Koen for appointment to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
JSC spokesperson Sesi Baloyi SC said the JSC was unable to consider the resignation of the MK party’s John Hlophe from the JSC because the commission had not been officially informed of it by the speaker of parliament.
“Because we haven’t heard anything from the speaker, the JSC has decided that we will continue with the business that we have gathered this week for. Because as matters stand we don’t have anything to not proceed with the interviews,” said Baloyi.
Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo confirmed the resignation to TimesLIVE Premium.
Baloyi said the present position of the JSC was that it was properly constituted, but if the speaker contacted the commission, the JSC would convene an urgent meeting to discuss and decide; and would be guided by the constitution and the JSC Act.
Baloyi also said that EFF leader and commissioner Julius Malema had not informed the chief justice or the JSC that he would not attend today or why.
Coppin, Baartman and Koen were three of six candidates interviewed on the JSC’s first day of interviews on Monday. Though candidates were scrutinised carefully, the interviews were efficiently conducted and kept to schedule — unusual for the JSC. The only part that went on longer than expected was the behind-closed-doors deliberations after the interviews, but that may have been due to it deciding what to do about the new revelations about Hlophe.
Because five of the candidates had been there four months earlier, they mostly had short interviews. Baartman, however, was closely questioned by commissioner Jenny Cane SC about critical comments from national advocates' body, the General Council of the Bar, about some of the judgments that she had delivered.
However, after explaining at length what had happened with these judgments, Cane said: “Thank you, you’ve certainly given good answers.”
Chief justice Mandisa Maya said she agreed that her explanations were good “but the concern” was that of 18 judgments of hers that were taken on appeal, “a majority was overturned. Out of 18, a whole 10 was overturned”. Baartman went back to her explanation and Maya said: “I was hoping you would also say that you’ve written many, many judgments over the years, which were not taken on appeal and which still stand. So we can’t judge you by the ten.” Baartman replied that it had indeed been 15 years on the bench for her.
I’m not perfect, but I think I have the necessary skills at this stage in my life
— Phillip Coppin, Gauteng High Court judge
Coppin, always tipped as a front-runner candidate, had a relaxed interview in which Gauteng udge president Dunstan Mlambo suggested he had “unquestioned appellate exposure” — from 12 years on the Labour Appeal Court and three acting stints on the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Coppin said: “I’m not perfect, but I think I have the necessary skills at this stage in my life.”
Koen was the most experienced candidate — appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal bench in 2006 from the ranks of the province’s senior counsel, he had done seven acting stints on the SCA since 2019. However, Koen was once again grilled about his decision to recuse himself from presiding in the corruption trial of former president Jacob Zuma and asked his views on what could be done about Stalingrad litigation tactics.
He said the primary problem with Stalingrad was the availability of appeal avenues and that sometimes this could mean a case could be heard by about 18 judges with six or seven stages of appeal.
“As long as there are appeals and the person has the right in law to appeal, then it’s very difficult to close the doors and say it’s got to stop here — unless you can show that it’s clearly mala fide or an abuse of process. But that is not something in our constitutional dispensation that I think a court should lightly conclude,” he said.
He said the principle was “easy”, but applying it was harder.
Interviews are scheduled to continue on Tuesday, with the JSC to interview three candidates for deputy judge president of the Land Court and a candidate for judge president of the Labour and Labour Appeal Court.
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