Judge President Mandisa Maya Only Woman Interviewed for Chief Justice, ConCourt Needs Gender Transformation
- Judge President Mandisa Maya is the only female candidate that was interviewed for the position of Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court
- During her interview, Maya was asked if she thinks South Africa is ready for its first female Chief Justice
- She responded that the question irritates her and that is was not a proper question to be asked of her in that forum
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JOHANNESBURG - The JSC panel is in the process of interviewing candidates for the appointment of Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. however, there is only one female candidate, Judge President Mandisa Maya from the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Maya expressed that she is irritated whenever she is asked if she thinks South Africa is ready to have its first female Chief Justice. The Judge President added that she is not the only woman who holds this opinion.
“I don't think it's a proper question to ask because it implies all sorts of things. SA has always been ready to have a female chief justice at inception,” Maya said.
Source: Getty Images
Maya's competition and support
TimesLIVE reports that Maya is up against Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and Dunstan Mlambo, who is the president of the Gauteng High Court. Her bid to become the next Chief Justice is supported by many woman's organisations in South Africa.
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During her interview for the position, Maya was asked many questions about the extent of the challenges facing women in the judiciary and how gender transformation should be implemented. She identified the practice of women receiving fewer briefs in complex cases than their male colleagues as one of the biggest reasons for women not getting chosen for vacancies.
According to News24, MP Sylvia Lucas told Maya during her interview that she is an inspiration to all South African women, particularly those in the legal field. Not only would her appointment made her the country's first female Chief Justice, but she is also the first woman to be interviewed for the position.
Reactions to Maya's statements about women in the judiciary
@02nyc1 shared:
"I agree. The sex of a candidate is immaterial in my opinion. It should be on merit only."
@slago012 believes:
"To be fair to Justice Maya, the question of a female person being ready to lead the Judiciary is nonsense. This is the narrative of the ANC when electing a President, which I also find absurd and ludicrous in the extreme."
@gusmeyer53 said:
"I agree. In general, the level of the questions raised by the commissioners were much lower than one would expect at that level."
@DuncanGeach remarked:
"Pathetic that this line of questioning is considered necessary."
@rehlamfu_thabo believes:
"This question of, are we ready for a woman C.J - should be directed to the panellists, not candidates. After all, the panel consists of men. We will only be ready when we see a woman in that role."
Mpofu and Malema should not be on JSC says Freedom under Law, questions EFF's place in judicial appointments
In earlier news about Chief Justice interviews, yesterday Briefly News reported that Freedom under Law, a civic organisation that champions the correct application of the rule of law, expressed that they believe it's inappropriate for EFF leader Julius Malema and Advocate Dali Mpofu to be involved in interviewing candidates for judicial appointment as part of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC)'s panel.
The JSC are in the process of conducting interviews with candidates for the judiciary. These candidates include Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Mbuyiseli Madlanga from the Constitutional Court, Dunstan Mlambo and Supreme Court of Appeal president Mandisa Maya.
Freedom under Law justified their claims against Malema and Mpofu by citing their misconduct allegations and alleged unethical behaviour. Due to these accusations, the organisation do not think they should be put in a position to judge the suitability of judicial candidates for appointment.
Source: Briefly News
