Concourt to decide Ngcobo's future

THE Constitutional Court will have to decide whether the president's extension of their boss Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo's tenure is valid or not, following argument at the court in Johannesburg yesterday.

Ngcobo, pictured, chose not to be present and did not brief counsel either, choosing rather to accept what the court decided. Seven lawyers tackled what one of the justices, Johan van der Westhuizen, said could have ramifications for decades.

Earlier this year, President Jacob Zuma was advised by the Minister of Justice Jeff Radebe that Ngcobo's seven-year term of office as a judge would end at midnight on August 14 this year.

Zuma asked Ngcobo to stay on for another five years, and on June 2 Ngcobo agreed.

Zuma informed political parties and the Judicial Services Commission, which interviews judges for vacancies and then refers their candidate choices to Zuma for the final say.

The Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution, Freedom Under Law, Justice Alliance of SA and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies contend that Section 8(a) of the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act 47 of 2001 is inconsistent with Section 176(1) of the Constitution because the Constitution provides for the extension by an act of Parliament. Kemp J Kemp, representing Zuma, submitted that the president has the discretion to make the extension.