[Leftist Experts no doubt, with their rubbish and unworkable ideas!! The bottom line is that they want to kick out White Males… that’s what this nonsense is all about… more pseudo-intellectual garbage… Jan]

A group of senior judicial officers will consult “experts” on how best to tackle issues of racism and sexism in the legal system, the heads of South Africa’s courts said on Monday.

The group, as a subcommittee led by Deputy Chief Justice Pius Langa, would ask these experts for advice on processes to be put in place to resolve racism and sexism, the heads said in a statement.

“This subcommittee will make recommendations to the heads of courts and decisions taken after such recommendations have been received will be made public,” they said.

The statement did not say which experts would be consulted and specified no time frames.

The heads said they had now had the opportunity to consider various reports they had received on racism and sexism in the judiciary.

They accepted that such prejudice was present in the judiciary and the legal profession – just as it was engraved in society at large.

“It appears from the reports that some of our colleagues have been hurt by racist and sexist conduct,” the statement said.

“We regret that this should have happened and we are determined to confront and deal with issues of racism and sexism that are brought to our attention.”

Those who had experienced bigotry should report this immediately “so that it can be dealt with”, the statement said.

“Conscious and deliberate racism and sexism are inconsistent with the office of a judge,” it said. “An allegation that a member of the judiciary has been guilty of such behaviour must be investigated and, if established would constitute serious misconduct.”

The heads said legislation was likely to be passed shortly allowing for a formal complaints system to be introduced with the necessary powers to investigate complains against judges and impose sanctions.

Efforts were also underway to set up representative committees at all superior courts to address issues of racism and sexism.

Pending these developments, the statement said, all complaints against judges should be addressed to the head of court at which the judge is based, or to the Judicial Service Commission.

“Racism and sexism, even if not deliberate, may be the result of our having grown up in a society in which they were the norm,” the statement said.

Breaking down the remnants of such attitudes would be a continuous process.

“The heads of courts will open avenues for issues of this nature to be raised and resolved,” the statement said. – Sapa

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>