About Office of the Chief Justice South Africa

The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) is a national department in South Africa established to provide administrative and technical support to the Chief Justice as the Head of the Judiciary. Manages superior courts, including the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, and various divisions of the High Court.

Minimum Requirements

1. Applicants should be in possession of a minimum of an LLB degree at NQF level 8
2. A minimum of two (2) years in the relevant field; Superior Court or litigation experience will be an added advantage
3. A valid driver’s license will be an added advantage.
4. Skills and Competencies: Excellent research and analytical skills; Report writing and editing skills; Excellent communication skills (written and verbal); Understanding of the Constitution and relevant legislation
5. Computer literacy (MS Word, Outlook and Internet)
6. Ability to access and utilize computer research programmes (Westlaw, LexisNexis, Jutastat)
7. Planning and organizing; Ability to integrate knowledge from diverse sources
8. Accuracy and attention to detail; Interpersonal skills
9. Problems solving skills; Ability to work under pressure
10. Ability to work independently.
11. All shortlisted candidates shall undertake a pre-entry practical exercise as part of the assessment method to determine the candidate’s suitability based on the post’s technical and generic requirements.
12. All shortlisted candidates shall undertake a pre-entry practical exercise as part of the assessment method to determine the candidate’s suitability based on the post’s technical and generic requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide support and legal research functions for the Judges and other court officials.
• Prepare and compile legal opinions.
• Provide support with drafting of clear, consistent and comprehensive judgements.
• Ensure that Judges are up to date on recent developments in case law, practice directives and legislation.
• Perform all legal duties for the judges to enable them to prepare judgments.
• Research and retrieve all material from all sources in both hard copy and electronic format on legal issues, as requested by the judges.
• Read all the relevant material and analyse it thoroughly.
• Discuss all possible variations on a legal point with colleagues and/or the judge.
• Prepare a comprehensive memorandum on the outcome of the research.
• Proofread all judgments, articles, speeches and conference papers.
• Verify all references and footnotes in all judgments and legal articles against the original text for correctness.
• Correct documents with the help of track changes to allow for the acceptance/rejection of the proposed changes.
• Drafting speeches, conference notes and legal articles.
• Monitoring and bringing to the attention of judges of the court recent developments in case law and jurisprudence.
• Assist court personnel with research related queries as assigned.
• Keep up breast with recent developments in relevant areas of law, such as legislative changes, new precedents, and emerging legal trends