Section 13 of the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act, 2001, provides for promulgation of regulations governing conditions of employment for judges. In terms of regulation 3(1) Judges qualify for vacation leave for a period of three and a half months for every period of four years of actual service completed by the relevant Judge.
There is no such a thing as a “16 terms” requirement.
Special leave granted to judges under special circumstances is not excluded from the period of actual service. The fact that the Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe was on special, does not affect his vacation leave to which he is legally entitled.
Vacation leave is not accumulative and no salary may be claimed in respect of vacation leave which could have been taken but which was not utilised. Judge President Hlophe therefore applied for vacation leave in October 2009 for the period 14 December 2009 to 9 April 2010 and his application was approved by the Justice and Constitutional Development Minster Jeff Radebe on 8 December 2009.
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Tlali Tlali
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Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
15 January 2010
