Cape Town - The Cape Bar Council has dismissed a professional misconduct complaint against advocate Jeremy Gauntlett, it was reported on Wednesday.
A sub-committee had found there was no substance to the complaint, which was brought by lawyer Paul Ngobeni, council chairman Ismail Jamie told The Times.
The complaint indirectly arose from the Judicial Service Commission's (JSC) decision, in October, not to recommend Gauntlett as a judge in the Cape High Court, finding he was “acerbic” and had a “short thread”.
In a Sunday Times report, Gauntlett commented: “The JSC itself has gone to great trouble to list required attributes for judges... (humility) has not been applied to any other candidate.”
The Times reported that, in a complaint brought in November, Ngobeni submitted that Gauntlett's statement was a “tactical manoeuvre to portray the JSC as infested with a bunch of incompetent and less intelligent persons”.
He accused Gauntlett of “false and scandalous accusations” against the JSC and in particular Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng”.
According to The Times, the Bar Council finding meant the complaint could no longer be held against Gauntlett, who is shortlisted for appointment to a vacant position in the Constitutional Court.
Interviews for the position will be held in Johannesburg on February 22. -Sapa