Draft legislation to establish the judiciary as a single and totally independent arm of the state is expected to be handed to Parliament in January next year.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Judiciary Conference in Durban, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya said the first step was taken in April.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Justice Department to transfer shared functions to the Office of the Chief Justice.
The new legislation will bring the magistrates and regional courts under the leadership of the Office of the Chief Justice.
“So, like you have with Parliament, Parliament is independent. They determine their rules, they determine their budget, and all that. The executive as well, running the country and all that. With the judiciary running the courts, that’s what it entails. Part of what we’ve been raising and what we continue to raise is that at the heart of the single judiciary is access to justice,” says Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi.
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi, MP, outlined government’s roadmap towards Judiciary-led court administration in support of judicial independence.#JudiciaryConference2026 #JudiciaryRSA #OCJ_RSA pic.twitter.com/EcfN9JCa4O
— RSAJudiciary (@OCJ_RSA) July 14, 2026
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Maya says a comprehensive policy on sexual harassment has been drawn up for the judiciary.
She says complaints can be directed to a gender desk that has been established in the Office of the Chief Justice.
Last year a tribunal heard a complaint by a high court secretary against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge.
“The establishment of the interim gender desk is to ensure the immediate implementation and monitoring of the policy while arrangements are being made for a more permanent, fully-fledged gender unit. The location of the interim gender desk is at the Constitutional Court in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, under the direct supervision of the Chief Justice. This signals a vital shift in how the judiciary responds to these issues: not as isolated human resources concerns, but as letters of institutional integrity and judicial ethics,” says Maya.
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