Judicial Service Commission (South Africa)

The Judicial Service Commission is a body specially constituted by the South African Constitution to recommend persons for appointment to the judiciary of South Africa.

In apartheid South Africa, judges were appointed by the President, usually on the direction of the Minister of Justice, and behind closed doors. During the constitutional negotiations, it was decided that the President's power should be moderated by a special body relatively insulated from partisan interests. It was to be composed of a number of politicians, from both the ruling party and the opposition, and non-politicians, and would conduct public interviews. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) was therefore created by the Interim Constitution. The JSC is now regulated by section 178 of the final Constitution (and by the Judicial Service Commission Act 9 of 1994).

In terms of section 178(1) of the Constitution, the JSC is usually composed of 25 members. This membership is divided more or less evenly between politicians and non-politicians. These are:

When the JSC considers the appointment of judges to a division of the High Court, its Judge President, and the Premier of the province in which it is located, must also be present. When the matter before the Commission does not concern the appointment of a judge, the members from the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces are excluded.

The JSC's primary function is to select South Africa's judges. Though the President makes the appointments, the JSC has a crucial screening function. In the case of judges of the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal, the President's role is purely formal; he or she must confirm the candidates chosen by the JSC. But in the case of justices of the Constitutional Court, the country's highest, the President has a discretion: the JSC provides a shortlist of four candidates, from which the President picks one. In the appointment of the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice, finally, the JSC's power is most attenuated: the President makes the appointments "after consulting" the JSC and opposition parties, whose opinions he may disregard.

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