Formalization of judicial independence via appointment commissions in Southern Africa

The author critically assesses the empirical results brought by the authors exploring elites’ experience with judicial governance models in six European countries and juxtaposes it against the development and in Southern Africa. Political scientists analyze the global rise of judicial appointment commissions as a response to judicialized politics. They argue that appointment processes have formalized to include more constituencies now affected by judicial decisions. This article presents evidence from Southern Africa confounding their expectations. Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland/Eswatini all recruited foreign appellate judges through informal channels. In every country, this system has come under pressure from a variety of local sources. Yet those demanding reform have always been able to mobilize new international orthodoxies that require the judiciary to represent its society and make itself accountable to external audiences.