Institutionalising a military judicial office and improving security of tenure of military judges in South Africa

Abstract

Challenges of judicial independence facing South African military judges are relatively well known. This article makes concrete suggestions on ways in which certain aspects of the judicial independence of South African military courts could be improved. It particularly argues for the institutionalisation of a military judicial office and for a stronger degree of tenure for South African military judges as part of crafting a suitable model for judicial independence of these courts. The contribution draws inspiration from the idea that there is no single correct formula for achieving the basic requirements of judicial independence. There is therefore a lot of scope to develop different ideas geared to meeting the requirements of judicial independence by military courts. The article is divided into two parts. Part one attempts to make a case for the institutionalisation of a military judicial office while part two makes a proposal for the improvement of security of tenure of military judges taking into account some global trends in this field. Some of the thoughts discussed may find resonance in military justice systems in many parts of the world.