In the majority ruling, the panel felt that an apology and a reprimand would “amend the wrongs done by the respondent justices to the parties and will vindicate the principle underpinning the finding of guilt.” The commission’s conduct tribunal investigated the complaints after they were lodged some years ago by Judge Ngoepe while he still headed this division of the high court. In this minority judgment, members of the commission’s panel said, in their opinion, each judge should have been fined R500 000, payable over six months. This, while in the minority judgment, some members of the commission felt the three judges should have been found guilty of gross misconduct. They were also reprimanded by the commission.

The three had to apologise to then Judge President Bernard Ngoepe, as well as to the litigants involved. The JSC, in that matter, decided to give judges Ferdi Preller, Moses Mavundla and Ntsikelelo Poswa a slap on the wrist as a sanction. Two years ago, three (then) retired judges of the Pretoria high court were found guilty of misconduct for delivering a series of judgments between them after more than a year the actual hearings took place. Meanwhile, the Meyiwa murder trial is expected to resume in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, from May 2 to May 26, whereafter it will be postponed to resume again from June 5 to June 15. However, if the tribunal finds them guilty of gross misconduct, their legal careers could be in jeopardy. The JSC has subsequently decided to request, in terms of section 19 of the Judicial Service Commission Act, that the Chief Justice appoint a Judicial Conduct Tribunal (Tribunal) to consider the complaints and will advise the president of its decision.Īt this stage, it is not clear how many judgments from each judge are outstanding. “The JSC decided that the failure to deliver the reserved judgments, if established, will prima facie indicate incapacity, gross incompetence or gross misconduct on the part of the judges, taking into account the extent of the delay and the prejudice suffered by the parties,” it said.

Judge ferdi preller