South Africa's most stressful public job interviews, the Judicial Service Commission hearings to fill judge posts, have been taking place this week. Yet despite interviewing 10 candidates, the commission has opted to recommend filling just half the open positions at the Supreme Court of Appeal.

At the end of two days spent interviewing 10 judges, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) announced that it would recommend filling just two of the available four spots on the Bench of the country's second-highest court, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

The JSC said it would recommend to President Cyril Ramaphosa that Judge Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane and Judge Shane Kgoele be appointed permanently to the appellate court.

It is a decision that, as so often with the JSC's opaque choices, will raise eyebrows. A shortage of qualified candidates for the country's top posts has been a problem for some years. Indeed, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo tacitly acknowledged as much on the sidelines of this week's JSC interviews when he revealed that, from now on, academics and lawyers who have not previously been appointed as judges will be considered for direct appointment to the Constitutional Court.

Judge Zondo said this move was designed to address the paucity of candidates making themselves available for the country's top courts. Although the current incarnation of the JSC remains leagues more professional and functional than its chaotic iterations in recent years, this week's decision on the SCA posts will once again fuel debate about...