Civil society organisations committed to the protection of the rule of law and the integrity of
South Africa’s constitutional democracy express deep concern at President Cyril
Ramaphosa’s delay in appointing judges to the Constitutional Court.

It has now been over five months since the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) concluded
interviews and submitted its recommendations for appointment of two judges to the Constitutional
Court. To our knowledge, this is longest any president in democratic South Africa has taken to
appoint judges to the apex court.

The Constitutional Court has not operated at a full complement of 11 permanent judges for several
years. The current delay exacerbates the problem.