“Paragraph 5 of the Chancellor of Justice Act and Paragraph 40 of the Constitution establish that the Chancellor of Justice shall be appointed by the Parliament on the proposal of the President of the Republic.

The CoJ reported that in practice, the President of the Republic consults with all political parties within Parliament and civil society organisations (CSOs) before proposing a candidate for election by Parliament. In addition, civil society can and have presented related proposals, opinions and requests for information under the Response to Memoranda and Requests for Explanations and Submission of Collective Proposals Act.

The SCA continues to be of the view that the process currently enshrined in the Act is not sufficiently broad and transparent. In particular, the Act does not:

– require the advertisement of vacancies; and

– specify the process for achieving broad consultation and/or participation in the application, screening, selection and appointment process, in particular of CSOs.

The SCA also notes that the CoJ is currently considering means to ensure a formalized selection process, inclusive of CSOs.

It is critically important to ensure the formalization of a clear, transparent and participatory selection and appointment process for an NHRI’s decision-making body in relevant legislation, regulations or binding administrative guidelines, as appropriate. A process that promotes merit-based selection and ensures pluralism is necessary to ensure the independence of, and public confidence in, the senior leadership of an NHRI.

The SCA encourages the CoJ to advocate for the formalization and application of a process that includes requirements to:

a) Publicize vacancies broadly;

b) Maximize the number of potential candidates from a wide range of societal groups and educational qualifications;

c) Promote broad consultation and / or participation in the application, screening, selection and appointment process;

d) Assess applicants on the basis of pre-determined, objective and publicly available criteria;

The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.1 and to its General Observation 1.8 on ‘Selection and appointment of the decision-making body of NHRIs’.“

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