The record of the Judicial Service Commission (sitting without the political representatives who are its members) is notoriously defective. The circumstances surrounding Cape Judge President John Hlophe and Judge Nkola Motata have been in the public domain for the past 15 years, and there is neither excuse nor justification for these delays.

Throughout the world, constitutional democracies are under threat. The wave of Constitution-making which resulted from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 and the arrival of freedom in southern Africa overwhelmingly endorsed the constitutional democratic model as the preferred form of public governance.

Key to this model are a written Constitution, the entrenchment of fundamental human rights, and the doctrine of the separation of powers. Inevitably, the role of the judiciary as the third branch of government is elevated as the ultimate interpreter and guarantor of the vigorous, independent, and impartial enforcement of the provisions of the Constitution.

As we know, South Africa's Constitution is a wonderful example of this approach to the exercise of public power by government at all levels, and its values infuse all relationships under law, public and private.

In general, the judiciary, led by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), has shown remarkably intelligent, nuanced and resilient commitment to its assigned role in government, despite some challenges within its ranks and in the face of unprincipled, indeed outrageous, vilification from party-political quarters sporadically.

It is clear that there are many in the latter group who resent being held to account...