A CANDIDATE for the position of judge in the Free State High Court was grilled for incorrect entries on her application.
Attorney Cathy Page had two incorrect dates which she claimed were when she finished her BA law degree. On her application letter, she said she finished her degree in 1991 while her CV said she acquired her degree in 1992.
But during the interview on Thursday, 7 April, she said she finished it in 1990. Commissioner Cyril Xaba asked: “Is it fair that you don’t pay attention to detail?”
Page said: “Just based on that one aspect I would say it’s not completely correct. I made an honest bona fide mistake when I entered that date.”
Earlier, chairman of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Chief Justice Raymond Zondo asked Page when she finished her articles. She could not give a definite answer. Xaba asked the question again and she finally said it took her four years to finish her articles. She has acted in the high court for 22 weeks. “I have finalised matters expeditiously. When I left the court, as a magistrate I had no reserved judgments. I always ensure I finalise my matters,” she said. Page was a magistrate for 17 years.
Advocate Josephus Hefer, who has 31 years of experience, told the interviewers he would accept the JSC’s decision to nominate a woman over him for gender equity.
“But they must look at the merits of each candidate,” he said.
Advocate Ilse van Rhyn said she has delivered 70 judgments both in civil and criminal law as an acting judge. She said she has not done many cases on constitutional law because the Free State did not have many cases of that nature.
Following deliberations, the JSC said it would advise President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint Van Rhyn.
