With his history of human rights orientated work, Judge Chris Nicholson 'cannot be seen as belonging to the past'

In 2006, KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala said he would select a judge "who I feel will be able to dispense justice" for the corruption trial of African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma.

On Monday, he announced that Judge Chris Nicholson would preside over Zuma's application that the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute him was unfair and unconstitutional. The forthcoming application, to be heard in Pietermarizburg on Monday, could have significant consequences: if successful, the NPA will not be able to continue with its prosecution of Zuma.

Regarding Zuma's main trial for corruption, due in court in December, Tshabalala said he would name the judge as close as possible to the court date.

"I do not want any judge to be under intense scrutiny," he said. He has stuck to this decision in his selection for the application. But in the present climate, with political disputes increasingly coming before the courts, and the consequent free for all criticism of individual judges, Nicholson will invariably become the subject of "intense scrutiny".

Zuma's trial, and all its preliminary investigations, has the most far-reaching political consequences of any criminal trial since 1994.

Nicholson is a judge of the new order. Appointed to the bench after democracy, Nicholson's legal background is human rights orientated. Before his appointment, he was the director of the Legal Resources Centre's (LRC's) constitutional litigation unit. Prior to that he was an attorney at the LRC. In 1996 he was appointed to the Labour Appeal Court.

National Prosecuting Auth-ority spokesman Tlali Tlali said the "identity, profile or background" of a judge was "really not so important to us".

"What is important to us is that we get an opportunity to really present our argument in court. If we are not satisfied with the outcome, we will explore avenues legally available to us," he said.

Members of the legal profession spoke highly of Nicholson.

Anton Steenkamp, a partner at Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs, said Nicholson "is competent and very highly regarded" and had the courage of his convictions, and of legal principle.

Senior counsel and chairman of Advocates for Transformation Patric Mtshaulana said Nicholson belonged to the crop of judges appointed after 1996.

"He also belongs to the crop of lawyers who were active in the difficult days, and without in any way saying this is a requirement for independence, it will be very difficult to criticise him for belonging to the past. In that sense, he is a good choice."

In 2006 Nicholson found the government to be in contempt of court for not reporting back to court on its antiretroviral programme for prisoners in Westville Prison, as had been ordered by Judge Thumba Pillay.

Nicholson also came down heavily on private sector corruption last year, quoting judge Hilary Squires in Schabir Shaik's case, saying private sector corruption was "eating away remorselessly at the fabric of corporate probity".

Nicholson has authored two books, one on the brutal murders of Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto, Sicelo Mhlauli and Fort Calata (the Cradock Four) by apartheid security forces in 1985. His second was a biography of Papwa Sewgolum, the black golfer who beat Gary Player and was banned from playing as a result.

Nicholson was also one of the four judges on the KwaZulu- Natal bench in 1998 who would not sign the petition in support of Broederbonder Judge Willem Booysen, over Tshabalala, for the position of judge president in the division.

The petition, which was signed by 14 judges in the province , said if Tshabalala was appointed, he would not be able to "command the respect" of the other judges in KwaZulu-Natal.

With acknowledgements to Franny Rabkin and Business Day.