JSC advertises judges' jobs in dramatic break with the past
LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent
| Thursday January 8, 2009 00:00
In the past, judges were appointed by the President following the recommendations of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), provoking perennial criticism for lack of transparency, among other reasons.
But as emphatic a departure with the past that the new development may be, many say it is not good enough and have called for interviews of the candidates to be done in public to enhance transparency.
The posts of judges and acting judges that have been advertised are open to both citizens and non-citizens. According to the advertisement placed twice in the Daily News, the second was on December 24, 2008 to qualify for appointment, the candidate is required by Section 96 of the Constitution to hold, or must have held office as a judge, in Botswana or in a Commonwealth country.
The candidate should also be qualified to practice as an advocate or an attorney and/or to have been qualified for not less than 10 years to practice as an advocate or an attorney.
He/she should be qualified to practice as an attorney and have had experience in the teaching of law in a recognised university for not less than 10 years. Alternatively, the candidate should have been a chief magistrate who has held that office for not less than five years.
'In addition, a candidate must have intellectual and analytical ability, sound judgment, decisiveness, communication and listening skills, integrity and independence, maturity and sound temperament,' the advert stipulates.
The salary scale for the judges sought is stated as FO (P444,108) per annum. Some of their benefits include free furnished residential accommodation or a housing allowance of P5,3937.45 per month where no official residence is provided. They are also entitled to chauffer-driven cars, and to robe and entertainment allowances.
The Acting Registrar and Master of the High Court, Jacob Manzunzu, has welcomed the advertising of judges' jobs as a positive development and says it actually came as a recommendation of the JSC which felt that the process should be made more open.
Manzunzu adds that only candidates who have applied will be considered for appointment. However, the JSC will still make recommendations to the President, but only after conducting interviews.
University of Botswana (UB) law lecturer, Bungalo Maripe, has also welcomed the development of advertising judges' posts because in that way, the public is made aware that positions are available.
However, Maripe points out that it would be undesirable to have people who never applied appointed.
Gaborone private attorney, Shakes Busang, says the new move will not achieve its intended purpose if the interviews are not conducted in public, which is important for transparency and is the trend in democratic countries, among them South Africa and the United States.
Busang says in South Africa, even the nominations of judges are made public. 'You know who had applied, when the Judicial Service Commission will sit and the venue,' he says, adding that the same should apply to Botswana and that places chosen for the interviews should be accessible to the public.
In his view, interviews done in public enhance transparency and the chances of the best candidates being appointed.
The head of the Botswana bench was localised in the early 1990s when the late Moleleki Mokama became the first Motswana appointed to the position of Chief Justice. Several Batswana have since been appointed to the bench.
According to Sections 174 to 178 of the South African constitution that deal with the appointment of judicial officers, that country's Judicial Service Commission draws up a list of candidates that must have three more names than the number of vacancies.
The South African JSC does this after calling for nominations and holding public interviews.
Then the President, after consultations with the Chief Justice and leaders of political parties represented in the National Assembly, chooses the judges from this selection.