PARLY CAN’T INTERFERE WITH JUDICIARY - MINISTER

MBABANE – “Neither the Crown nor Parliament, or any person acting under the authority of the Crown or Parliament, or any person whatsoever, shall interfere with judicial officers in the exercise of their judicial power.”

This is the response that was tabled before Parliament when MPs alleged that the çhief justice (CJ) ‘was a law unto himself. The MPs requested the minister to lead the portfolio committee to His Majesty the King to try and resolve this issue. The minister was asked if he had power over the Judiciary and made an example of the ongoing probe at the Master’s Office that has been unilaterally ordered and authorised by the CJ, despite the minister’s non-involvement at any of the stages leading up to the probe.

The responses from the ministry which were tabled in Parliament cited Section 2 of the Constitution, which provides for the supremacy clause that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Accordingly, the independence of the Judiciary, as a third arm of government, and as entrenched and enshrined in section 141 of the Constitution, should be respected by all.

The ministry mentioned that the Constitutional provision provides, inter alia, that in the exercise of the judicial power of Eswatini, the Judiciary, in both its judicial and administrative functions, including financial administration, shall be independent and subject only to the Constitution, and shall not be subject to the control or direction of any person or authority.

“It further provides that neither the Crown nor Parliament nor any person acting under the authority of the Crown or Parliament or any person whatsoever shall interfere with judicial officers in the exercise of their judicial power,” reads the response.

Furthermore, the ministry stated that the Constitution also provided that all organs or agencies of the crown shall give to the courts such assistance as the courts may reasonably require to protect the independence, dignity and effectiveness of the courts, under the Constitution. It provides further that the Judiciary shall keep its own finances and administer its own affairs.

Moreover, the ministry mentioned that the law states that the Judiciary shall keep its own finances and administer its own affairs, and may deal directly with the ministry responsible for finance or any other person in relation to its finances or affairs. “To that extent the doctrine of separation of powers between the three arms of government is a constitutional imperative, which prohibits the interference and overreach of the functions of the three arms of government.”

The MPs had mentioned that if the minister does not have power over the Judiciary, why should he be lobbying on behalf of the Judiciary for allocation of its budget in Parliament? “Should the Judiciary attend Parliament itself to lobby for its budget since it is independent of the minister?”

The response was that the registrar of the Supreme Court serves as the controlling officer. The MPs also questioned why the officers implicated in corruption and misconduct in the Master’s office were not suspended pending the completion of the Master’s Office probe. In response, the ministry said the current probe into the Master’s Office sought to address such allegations with the objective being to help the office improve on service delivery and transparency.

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