The Judicial Service Commission and the appointment of Women: more to it than meets the eye

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in South Africa was established in response to a pre-democratic era appointment system rich in patronage, opaqueness, and invariably, inequality. The use of judicial appointment bodies has been recommended by the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles, as a method of preserving judicial independence. However, not much research has been conducted into whether there is an absence of patronage and power dynamics when judicial appointment bodies replace executive type of appointments. This paper suggests that the introduction of appointment bodies does not eradicate privilege and power dynamics as some might believe. Rather, it creates a different type of dynamic that can be harmful for women.