Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe on Wednesday said the wrong test and standard was used by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to determine whether he was guilty of gross misconduct and that he should be impeached.
Hlophe has applied to the High Court to interdict the National Assembly from impeaching him and President Cyril Ramaphosa from suspending him.
This would be while he fights that the court grant him his review application of the JSC decision.
Hlophe said based on the grounds set out in his submission, he believed the Judicial Service Tribunal failed to perform its functions to properly adjudicate the dispute.
The JSC made the recommendations that removal proceedings should be undertaken against Hlophe after upholding the tribunal’s decision.
He was found guilty of improperly approaching two Constitutional Court justices to influence their decision in former President Jacob Zuma’s arms deal case in 2008.
Hlophe said the JSC violated his rights as a trend had developed over the past 12 years of a politically charged concerted effort that used the misconduct allegations to block him from playing a meaningful role in the judiciary.
He said the JSC majority finding, which affirmed he was guilty of gross misconduct, was embarrassing.
He stated that if the standard for the removal of judges was as set out in the findings, then judges were vulnerable to a very low standard of judicial independence.
-EWN
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