Union Buildings, Pretoria — where the Independent Commission’s recommendations land on a presidential desk.
People say “IRC”. The statute says Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers, established under section 219 of the Constitution and the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers Act 92 of 1997. It recommends. The President determines. For magistrates, Parliament must still approve the notice under section 12 of the Magistrates Act 90 of 1993. That chain is why a 4.1 percent cost-of-living adjustment can travel from a Commission memorandum to a Gazette and still leave the structure untouched.
For 2025/26 the Commission recommended a 4.1 percent COLA for judges, magistrates and members of independent constitutional institutions. The President accepted that figure. The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development recommended that the National Assembly approve the magistrates’ schedule. Public servants on levels 1 to 12 had received 5.5 percent. The packages below took effect on 1 April 2025. They are the ones a magistrate still takes home as this edition goes to print.
Office | Package from 1 April 2025 |
Chief Justice | R 3,376,765 |
Judge of the High Court | R 2,194,917 |
Regional Magistrate / Chief Magistrate | R 1,578,535 |
Senior Magistrate | R 1,308,453 |
Magistrate | R 1,209,303 |
Section 8(6) of the Commission Act tells the Commission what to weigh: the role and status of the office, affordability, inflation, available state resources, and public-service remuneration. JASA’s submission is that “role and status” cannot mean a permanent nearly-million-rand gap between two judicial officers who take the same oath. Van Rooyen is the case.
Section 165(4) is the duty. A COLA that matches judges and magistrates, percentage for percentage, on unequal bases, is not a structural review. It is a sticker.
What JASA is asking the Commission to do next
A dedicated chapter on magistrates in the next annual recommendations: pension alignment with the Judges’ Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act 47 of 2001, long-service recognition, and a published comparison of residual take-home after medical aid and housing. Write to president@judicialalliance.org if your district has figures the Commission has not seen.