Judges Can't Be Trusted If They Bow to Power, Says Langa

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BYLINE: Political Bureau

and Sapa

An intimidated judiciary subservient to those who wield power cannot be trusted to deliver justice, Chief Justice Pius Langa has warned.

In such a scenario, he said, the judiciary became an extension of the executive.

South Africa's strong constitutional guarantees and public vigilance were, however, defending judicial independence.

Speaking at the opening of an international conference for judges and magistrates in Cape Town yesterday, Langa said the "crumbling" of the judiciary's independence could take place "silently" and "subtly", but would be just as damaging as "an attack by physical force".