The interviews of the four judges vying for the position of chief justice have fuelled fierce debate on the powers of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the conduct of its members.

On the one hand, the raging discourse is centred on whether the JSC misconceived its mandate by recommending to President Cyril Ramaphosa that Supreme Court of Appeal judge president Mandisa Maya be the next chief justice. On the other hand, a war of words has erupted over the conduct of some of the JSC commissioners and whether their behaviour sullied the process to the extent that its integrity, fairness and professionalism is brought into question in the eyes of the public...