In essence, the judgment is based on the failure of the National Assembly to consider the nature of an appointment to the JSC and in this case the appointment of an ex-judge who had been guilty of gross judicial misconduct which justified impeachment.

One just cannot keep John Hlophe out of the news.

He was the first judge in the democratic era to be impeached. In the blink of an eye, he became the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, having been appointed by Jacob Zuma as the leader of the MK parliamentary caucus. He then was appointed by the National Assembly to be a member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), followed by legal challenges to this appointment.

Three separate applications by the DA, Freedom Under Law (FUL) and Corruption Watch seeking to prevent Hlophe from assuming membership of the JSC were heard together and decided by the Western Cape High Court on Friday.

While the DA and Corruption Watch sought interim relief pending a final decision as to the legality of Hlophe's appointment, FUL sought an order that the decision to designate Hlophe as a JSC member be declared unconstitutional and invalid.

These applications were strenuously opposed by MK and Hlophe as well as the African Transformation Movement. Much of this opposition was based on tendentious arguments devoid of any justifiable legal authority; in particular, the attempt...