SA to host first ever meeting of CCJA

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The meeting will be held from 28 to 29 January in Sun City, in the North West. Chief Justice Mogoeng is one of the vice presidents of the CCJA having been elected in Cotonou, Benin in May 2013.

Expected to attend the meeting are heads of constitutional courts and courts of equivalent status who serve in the Executive Bureau of the CCJA, including CCJA President Justice Theodore Holo.

The CCJA was established by presidents and representatives of African constitutional courts and courts of equivalent in Algeria in May 2011.

This was in response to an African Union resolution on the establishment of an African framework for constitutional justice, passed in Uganda in July 2010.

In its Preamble, the founding statute of the CCJA sets out that part of the Constitutive Act of the African Union enshrines the commitment of African heads of state and government to promote and protect human and people's rights, to consolidate institutions and democratic culture, to promote good governance and the rule of law.

"And one of the primary objectives of the CCJA is to supplement the African Union mechanisms to consolidate the rule of law, democracy and human rights.

"The CCJA also recognises that the achievement of these objectives is closely linked to the independence and impartiality of judges. This is essentially what the CCJA was established to achieve in Africa," said the Chief Justice.

Chief Justice Mogoeng was speaking at the 17th General Conference of the Judicial Officers Association of South Africa (JOASA) on Friday evening, 24 January 2014.

Chief Justice Mogoeng added that the fact that the meeting of the Executive Bureau was taking place in South Africa was a vote of confidence in the South African Judiciary's vision and commitment to contribute to the promotion and observance of the rule of law and the independence of judiciaries in Africa.

He said there were various areas of concern in relation to judicial independence and the apparent non-observance of the rule of law in certain parts of the continent, adding that there were also pockets of excellence that need to be strengthened and shared.

Mogoeng said it was through even closer co-operation under the auspices of the CCJA that African Judiciaries can advance constitutional justice in the continent.

"It is both an honour and a privilege for us to host this very important and historic meeting. And we are looking forward to the deliberations which will pave the way for a programme of action that will guide the CCJA and by extension African judiciaries in our collective quest to restore the much-needed peace and stability as well as the investor confidence in Africa to help boost the economy to the relief of a lot of our people.

"The CCJA provides a vehicle through which a profound contribution to the realisation of this ideal state of affairs can be made and we are determined to ensure that the meeting of the Executive Bureau this coming week comes up with a vision that will add significantly to measures being taken by other key role-players, to the renaissance of Africa," Mogoeng said.