Why Maya matters

SA legal monitoring site Judges Matter had this to say about the qualities Mandisa Maya will bring to the role:

‘The Deputy chief justice (DCJ) role is first and foremost a leadership position which requires an exceptional jurist to fill it. The incumbent must be an outstanding judge with the intellectual clout to consistently produce high-quality judgments — what we call intellectual leadership. Considering the demands of the role, the incumbent must also have a solid track record as a leader in the judiciary, who is able to manage complex systems and relationships and bring people along. An independent mind and unimpeachable integrity are qualities that almost go without saying as they are indispensable to the role. It’s also important for the DCJ to have a clear vision for the judiciary, or at least commit to one set by the chief justice (CJ).

“Maya has a decent body of work as a judge, which speaks to the quality of intellectual leadership. She notes 200 judgments published in the official law reports, with at least two of them written in isiXhosa — a feat no other judge has so far achieved. One of those judgments, AfriForum v Chairperson: Unisa Council found that Unisa’s move to an English-only policy (to the exclusion of Afrikaans) violated the principle of legality and was constitutionally invalid. The other judgment, Mgijima v Premier: Eastern Cape dealt with a traditional leadership dispute over the chieftaincy of the Zulu Traditional Council in Sheshegu (Eastern Cape), and the premier’s decision to recognise one heir over the other. In both judgments, Maya deployed rigorous analysis of both the factual matrix and the complex legal principles, and in a language accessible to a wider audience. Her lone dissent in F v Minister of Safety and Security —a case dealing with a rape perpetrated by an off-duty police officer — was later upheld by the Constitutional Court and shows her independent-mindedness.

“During her chief justice interview in February Maya gave a compelling vision for where she intends taking the judiciary in the next few years. She spoke of the need to unite all judicial officers towards a common vision, the need to bring more women into the judiciary, and for the judiciary to be allocated more resources and for judges to set the priorities of how those resources are used. Chief Justice [Raymond] Zondo has spoken about his desire to strengthen the independence of the judiciary as an institution during his tenure.

“Both these visions are mutually reinforcing, and, if properly implemented, will [put] the judiciary [on] a better footing. With less than two years left before Zondo retires, it makes sense for them work together to craft a common vision that Maya will probably be left to implement fully.” —