The Judiciary Council and its Role in the Independence of the South African Constitutional Court

The purpose of the council method, as one of the procedures for the appointment of constitutional judges, is to eliminate sectarian politics from the process of judicial appointments, and to promote judicial independence through the implementation of an intermediary body among the judiciary, the executive and the legislature branches. Judiciary councils play an important role in judicial appointments, through the participation of various political branches and most non-political groups such as the bar association, lawyers, and other individuals who are active in in civil society. Despite the efforts of the main legislators of South Africa to maintain the independence of the Judicial Commission, due to holding a majority of the Parliament by the National Congress and, consequently, the possibility of extensive involvement in the process of appointing members of the commission and the Constitutional Court, practically the process of appointing the judges has become dependent on the discretion of The ruling party. Also, the lack of transparency in the preparation of the candidate list for conducting a job interview opened the way for the accusation of orienting the commission to the candidates for the National Congress Party.