President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended Judge President John Hlophe from his duties with immediate effect pending a decision of the National Assembly as cited in section 177 of the constitution.
The office of the president confirmed Hlophe’s suspension on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa took the decision following the advice he received from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and in terms of section 177(3) of the constitution.
According to the president’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, the move will ensure continuity and stability in the work of the divisional high court.
In July, Hlophe was found guilty of impeachable gross misconduct.
“The suspension, which is in effect immediately, is on condition that judge president Hlophe completes all part-heard matters and reserved judgments,” Magwenya said.
“Due to the long history and complexity of the matter, president Ramaphosa took time to carefully consider all the permutations of the JSC recommendations, including obtaining guidance from an independent legal opinion.
“The president fully appreciated the need to balance Judge President Hlophe’s rights with those of the public and the interest of the judiciary as a whole.”
In 2008, the justices of the Constitutional Court submitted complaints with the JSC against Judge President Hlophe for his corrupt aim to influence the outcome of certain cases that were before the Constitutional Court in favour of former president Jacob Zuma.
The Judicial Conduct Tribunal (JCT) presumed that Hlophe’s conduct breached the provisions of section 165 of the constitution by improperly attempting to influence the two justices of the constitutional court to violate their oaths of office.
The JCT established that Hlophe’s behavior seriously threatened and interfered with the independence, impartiality, dignity and effectiveness of the constitutional court and further undermined public confidence in the judicial system.
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