The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) hearings into complaints against Cape Judge President John Hlophe should be open to the public, the DA said yesterday.

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) hearings into complaints against Cape Judge President John Hlophe should be open to the public, the DA said yesterday.

"The gravity of the JSC's hearings demand that this issue be resolved as expeditiously and transparently as possible," DA leader Helen Zille said.

"We must reduce the opportunity for ANC politicians to further impugn the integrity of the constitutional court ahead of the trial of ANC president Jacob Zuma," she said.

Judge Hlophe is accused of approaching some judges while they were deliberating cases involving Zuma.

Hlophe has laid a counter complaint, claiming the court abused his rights by making its complaint against him public.

Zille said she had written to JSC deputy chairman, Justice Craig Howie, asking him to open the hearings to the media and public. - Sapa