LEGAL PRACTICE COUNCIL GAZETTES NEW RULE ON JSC NOMINATIONS PROCESS

LEGAL PRACTICE COUNCIL GAZETTES NEW RULE ON JSC NOMINATIONS PROCESS

• 11 February 2026
• Legal Practice Council
• SA Legal Academy

Precipitated by a recent Judicial Services Commission (JSC) call for nominations (with interviews scheduled for April 2026), the Legal Practice Council has gazetted a rule on the procedures entailed – along with related definitions. Immediately in force, the rule is underpinned by ‘a new, inclusive Council-facilitated nomination model to replace previous arrangements’.

Among other things, the rule makes a JSC nominations committee responsible for determining which nominated legal practitioners would be suitable for serving on the Commission. This is expected to address concerns about the ‘exclusionary’ nature of the nomination process previously followed by the Council.

Although the Council’s JSC nomination process may well have been documented, as far as can be ascertained it is not publicly available. However, a March 2024 Council media statement may throw some light on the matter. It responds to Law Society of South Africa comments on the process, which were reported in Daily News.

According to the new rule’s accompanying notice, given the JSC's imminent submission deadline it was impossible to provide the ‘standard 30-day public comment period’ normally preceding rule changes. In that context, should there be any objections to the new rule, aggrieved parties have until 16 March 2026 to submit representations to the Council.

• new rule, with accompanying notice
• March 2024 LPC media statement
• Daily News article

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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