Update

GEORGE NEWS - The Judges Action Group (Jag) has warned that South Africa’s plans for a single judiciary could face legal challenge if ordinary magistrates are not directly consulted before decisions are made

The warning comes in a letter sent to Chief Justice Mandisa Maya on 11 July, just days after she rejected claims that magistrates were being excluded from discussions on judicial reforms

In her letter to the Judicial Officers Association of South Africa (Joasa), dated 7 July, Maya said she was “puzzled and disappointed” that concerns about the consultation process had been raised publicly before she had an opportunity to respond.

She said this “does not bode well for collegiality and unity”, particularly as the judiciary works towards creating a single, institutionally independent judiciary.

‘Magistrates are not excluded’

Maya rejected claims that magistrates had been sidelined.

She said that of the 285 delegates attending the 2026 Judiciary Conference, 102 are magistrates - comprising 38 regional court magistrates and 64 district court magistrates - who have been allocated speaking opportunities during the conference.

“Magistrates will be fairly represented at these proceedings as they were in the 2023 Judiciary Conference,” she wrote.

Maya also said that, following a meeting of heads of the superior and lower courts in April, two regional court presidents and two chief magistrates were elected to join the judicial technical committee responsible for engaging with the executive on the establishment of a single judiciary.

She argued that, just as judges are represented by their heads of court rather than their professional associations, magistrates should also speak with one voice through their leadership.

“I proposed to you that it would be advisable for the magistracy to organise itself into a joint formation as the judges have done... your interests are not different and it should not be difficult to achieve this,” Maya wrote.

Jag disagrees

In its response, Jag argues that chief magistrates and regional court presidents do not have a statutory mandate to represent all magistrates.

According to the organisation, the Magistrates’ Courts Act and the Magistrates Act assign chief Magistrates administrative responsibilities but do not authorise them to represent the magistracy on matters affecting judicial independence or conditions of service.

Jag says recognised voluntary organisations such as Joasa, the Association of Regional Magistrates of Southern Africa (Armsa) and Jag have historically represented magistrates by making submissions on judicial reforms.

The organisation further argues that the Constitution, the Magistrates Act and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act require direct consultation with ordinary magistrates before any decisions are taken on reforms affecting the lower courts.

Warning of legal challenge

Jag says any further discussions or policy decisions on the single judiciary that proceed without direct consultation with ordinary magistrates could be procedurally flawed and vulnerable to judicial review.

The organisation has asked the Office of the Chief Justice, the Magistrates Commission and the Department of Justice to confirm that all magistrates will be directly consulted before any further decisions are taken, publish a timetable for that consultation, recognise Jag, Joasa and Armsa as representative organisations for engagement, and circulate the record of an April 2026 meeting to all magistrates for comment.

Local concerns remain

The latest exchange follows concerns previously raised by magistrates nationwide.

“Magistrates perform about 95% of all judicial work in the country. For most South Africans, the magistrate’s court is their only interaction with the justice system. If reforms affecting magistrate’s courts are made without the people doing the work every day, then the ordinary citizen loses a voice in the process.”

Earlier, Jag co-ordinator Rohan Roopnarian said: “You cannot speak about a single judiciary while leaving the majority of judges out of the room”.

The differing views now set the stage for further debate at the Judiciary Conference, where the future structure of South Africa’s judiciary is expected to remain a central topic.

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