Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has railed against the executive for ignoring a call for a fully independent judiciary. Judges attending the 2023 Judges' Conference have also called for changes to the Judicial Service Commission Act to create the capacity needed to adjudicate on misconduct complaints.

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo pulled no punches in his criticism of the executive on the final day of the 2023 Judges' Conference, saying the executive was ''unwilling to let go'' of the administration of magistrates.

Zondo, who is at the tail-end of his short term as Chief Justice, was critical of the executive's seeming unwillingness to give the third arm of government full independence, saying judges at the conference had decided the issue ''should be expedited''.

Zondo had spoken about the issue on Tuesday, 5 December, the opening day of the conference and it seems his initial comments were noted. He said the Presidency had contacted him on Wednesday to set up a meeting. There were plans for him to meet Ramaphosa in the coming week, Zondo said.

Despite this momentum, it was not clear what the judiciary would do if the executive chose not to move forward with any changes, both legal and administrative.

''What will the judiciary do if the executive doesn't come to the party? The fact of the matter is that the judiciary has got to get money from the executive. If money is not made available to the judiciary so that certain matters that need...