There are just over three months left in the term of office of outgoing Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Zondo was appointed Chief Justice by President Cyril Ramaphosa from April 1, 2022, effective April 1, 2022, following Mogoeng's retirement.
Zondo, 64, is still expected to preside over the first seat of the seventh parliament after the general election. Mr Zondo was appointed as a Constitutional Court judge by former President Jacob Zuma in August 2012, with his appointment effective from September 1, 2012.
Twelve years later, his non-renewable term as a Supreme Court justice is scheduled to end in August. From a constitutional point of view, the term of office of a Constitutional Court judge is non-renewable and is limited to 12 years or until the age of 70, whichever comes first. Judges Matter reflected on Zondo's role as the country's top judge.
“When he took office as chief justice, obviously he had been chief justice for over a year, so he was aware of some of the serious problems in the judiciary. The JSC is one of the big examples where he had a huge impact on how the system works.But unfortunately, this time he was sitting on the State Capture Committee, so for example, he was speaking as the chairman. There were a number of times when he clashed with Congress over the State Capture Commission, which distracted him a bit from his role as Chief Justice. It was difficult to distinguish between his role as chairman of the State Capture Committee and his role as head of the State Capture Committee, in part because his work as head of the State Capture Committee was commendable. It was disappointing,” said Mbekezeli Benjamin of Judges Matter.
Candidates for the next chief justice are scheduled to be interviewed soon.
“So this time, President Ramaphosa started the process of selecting a new chief justice a little earlier. In February, he nominated the judge. [Mandisa] Maya becomes the only candidate for the Supreme Court. The JSC has scheduled this interview for May 21st and will be interviewing Justice Maya for the post of Chief Justice. “Of course, this is three months before Chief Justice Zondo's formal retirement and the idea behind it is that there will be a smooth transition between the two candidates,” Benjamin added. .
Mr Zondo's term ends at the end of August, but he is scheduled to administer the oath of office to the next parliament during the seventh parliament.
He will also preside over the elections for the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the NCOP, and the President.
