Quote of the week
Although judicial proceedings will generally be bound by the requirements of natural justice to a greater degree than will hearings before administrative tribunals, judicial decision-makers, by virtue of their positions, have nonetheless been granted considerable deference by appellate courts inquiring into the apprehension of bias. This is because judges ‘are assumed to be [people] of conscience and intellectual discipline, capable of judging a particular controversy fairly on the basis of its own circumstances’: The presumption of impartiality carries considerable weight, for as Blackstone opined at p. 361 in Commentaries on the Laws of England III . . . ‘[t]he law will not suppose possibility of bias in a judge, who is already sworn to administer impartial justice, and whose authority greatly depends upon that presumption and idea’. Thus, reviewing courts have been hesitant to make a finding of bias or to perceive a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of a judge, in the absence of convincing evidence to that effect.
Livesey v The New South Wales Bar Association [1983] HCA 17; (1983) 151 CLR 288
Panic among Mbeki appointees….
I received the following sms purporting to come from a panicked Mbeki appointee. Can it be true?
Am informed that the NWC has resolved as follows: 1. Thabo must go. 2. Baleka to take over. 3. Don’t prefer clauses 89 & 102 cos of possible early election. 4. Committee set up 2 look @ other possibilities including constitutional changes. 5. TM 2 be informed as soon as he’s back. 6. Certain ministers & premiers 2 be approached 2 stay 2 avoid exodus. It is time we move out of our comfort zone & face the reality of us all leaving sooer (sic) than we think!
I am a bit skeptical that this is what the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ANC really decided. This is because if it true, it suggests the NWC is desperately in need of a constitutional law adviser. (Hey, I won’t charge you guys that much – just ask!)
First, if President Mbeki resigns, the Speaker, Baleka Mbete, cannot take over as Acting President because the Deputy President and then a Minister selected by the cabinet is in line before the Speaker for the job of Acting President if only the President resigns. Second, if the President is removed in terms of section 89 or 102, we do not necessarily have to have an election – as long as a new President is elected by the National Assembly within 30 days of the resignation.
Regardless of the personal drama and tragedy of these events, it is a boon for anyone teaching Constitutional Law. Finally students will be able to see that these provisions in the Constitution relating to the President’s election and dismissal actually mean something!
