Judges Matter  is a research and advocacy project dedicated to enhancing transparency and accountability within South Africa’s judiciary.

Judges Matter conducts rigorous applied research, monitoring, and advocacy to inform evidence-based legal, policy and practice reforms to ensure the judiciary remains independent, effective, and trusted by the public.

Judges Matter’s key areas of focus are on:

• Judicial Appointments: to ensure quality, independent judges and magistrates for our courts.
• Judicial Conduct: to ensure judges remain accountable, ethical, and independent.
• Judicial Governance: to ensure that the judiciary is well-resourced and effectively governed.

Why judges really do matter

Independent, well-resourced judiciaries are the bedrock of the rule of law, fostering well-functioning societies and spurring economic growth. Judges matter to a prosperous and democratic South Africa, as a strong, independent judiciary is necessary to safeguard constitutional principles, uphold the rule of law, and protect human rights. Strong judiciaries foster economic growth and inspire confidence in the legal system, and judges matter to constitution democracy.