Johannesburg — WITH the country teetering on the brink of a constitutional crisis over President Thabo Mbeki's decision to suspend national public prosecutions director Vusi Pikoli, the last thing we need is cracks in the judicial system, another supposed pillar of our increasingly threatened democracy.

Yet that is what we are faced with in the wake of the Judicial Service Commission's (JSC's) decision to administer a light slap to the wrist of Cape Judge President John Hlophe, rather than sending him packing for accepting payments from financial services group Oasis in such dubious circumstances.

That the commission was divided in its decision makes matters worse rather that mitigating the damage that has been done to the body's credibility; this was an opportunity to send a clear message that judges, of all people, must be seen to respect the law and remain ethically beyond reproach. Yet it's clear some members of the JSC chose to look away. Shame on them.

The commission's failure to do the right thing is a serious setback to efforts to boost the authority of the courts following their abuse during the apartheid era. How does the JSC expect members of the public to have confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary when it excuses conduct such as Hlophe's? Do as we say, not as we do, is simply unacceptable with such an important institution.

There is a statutory requirement that judges obtain formal consent before taking on outside work, and it is patently clear that Hlophe failed to do this. That he claimed to have obtained verbal permission from conveniently deceased former justice minister Dullah Omar -- despite the fact that the transactions took place more than a year after Omar had relinquished the position -- should have been seen as an aggravation that made impeachment the unavoidable sanction.

Hlophe's ability to serve as Cape judge president was compromised before the Oasis saga by a series of well publicised incidents, all of which screamed that he was unsuited to sit on the bench, let alone assume the responsibilities of judicial leadership. If he had any vestige of honour or pride he would step down forthwith.