MBABANE – Government has asked the Chief Justice, Bheki Maphalala, to nominate two judges to serve on a regional tribunal that resolves labour disputes within the Southern African Development Community.
The Eswatini Judiciary has been asked to nominate two judges to serve on the Southern African Development Community Administrative Tribunal (SADCAT), a regional body responsible for adjudicating labour disputes involving staff of the SADC Secretariat, headquartered in Botswana.
The request was transmitted by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Thabsile Mlangeni, who serves as Eswatini’s SADC National Contact Point. The correspondence was forwarded to the Chief Justice and the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, formally initiating the national nomination process.
The call for nominations arises as the current four-year term of serving SADCAT judges is due to expire in October 2026. In line with the tribunal’s governing rules, the judicial positions are non-renewable, necessitating the identification of new candidates from across the SADC region.
SADCAT was established in 2015 and comprises seven judges drawn from the 16 SADC member States. The tribunal is mandated to hear and determine employment and labour-related disputes involving employees of the SADC Secretariat. In carrying out this function, it applies SADC staff regulations alongside principles of international administrative law.
Eswatini already has representation on the tribunal through High Court judge Lady Justice Mumcy Dlamini, who currently serves as SADCAT’s Vice President. Her presence reflects Eswatini’s participation in regional judicial mechanisms and its contribution to the administration of justice within SADC institutions.
According to the request, SADC has asked the Judiciary to shortlist suitable candidates in line with the tribunal’s official statute and established selection guidelines. To promote consistency and fairness across member States, SADC has provided a standard application form and a personal history template, which all nominated candidates are required to complete.
The nomination process is being coordinated by the Office of the Chief Justice. Once the Judiciary has completed its internal procedures, the shortlisted names are expected to be forwarded to the SADC Secretariat on February 23, 2026, ahead of the final submission deadline of February 28, 2026. At this stage, no potential nominees have been publicly identified.
The exercise is described as routine across SADC member countries and is aimed at ensuring that the tribunal remains fully constituted and capable of resolving workplace disputes efficiently and impartially within the regional organisation.
Beyond the immediate SADCAT process, requests for the nomination of judges to regional tribunals are generally guided by treaty obligations and established judicial and governmental procedures common across Southern and Eastern Africa.
Regional judicial bodies such as SADC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and African Union–linked tribunals periodically invite member States to nominate judges when terms of office expire, vacancies arise or additional judicial positions are created.
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