White men can’t judge

The discussion document by JSC commissioner Izak Smuts advises his employer to “come clean” and tell white male candidates that they needn’t ­bother applying to become judges. Reporters at the South African Sunday paper City Press has seen the document. Smuts will be presenting the document this week to a secret meeting of the commission ahead of a week of interviews with candidate judges in Cape Town. According to City Press Smuts will say: “One way or the other, the JSC must deal with the uncomfortable perception that the graffiti on its wall reads ‘white men can’t judge’.” He argues that “the JSC ought to have an honest debate about its ­approach to the appointment of white male candidates. “If the majority view is that… white male candidates are only to be considered for appointment in exceptional circumstances, the JSC should, at the very least, come clean and say so, so that white male candidates are not put through the charade of an interview before being rejected.” Smuts, a practising advocate and senior counsel, is described by City Press as “a crusader in the legal profession”. He recently quit his position as deputy chair of the General Council of the Bar over the council’s position on the legal practice bill. His comments come against the backdrop of increasing criticism and questions around the JSC’s appointment of candidates. In April 2011, the JSC decided to leave open two spots on the Western Cape High Court’s Bench, despite the fact that there were four white senior counsel available. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) would eventually declare this decision “irrational”. In the case, the JSC argued it could not be expected to give reasons for non-appointment of candidates because its members voted by secret ballot.