Newspaper groups filed urgent court papers to set aside the Judiciary Commission's (JSC) decision to hold a preliminary investigation into Cape Judge president John Hlophe and Constitutional Court judges' dispute, The Weekender reported on Saturday.

Avusa, the Independent Group, Mail & Guardian and Freedom of Expression Institute filed the papers at the High Court in Johannesburg on Friday. They want the preliminary investigation to be open to the public.

Last May, the Constitutional Court judges complained to the JSC that Hlophe had improperly tried to influence the outcome of pending judgements involving President Jacob Zuma.

Hlophe counter-complained that they had breached his rights in the manner in which they had gone about their complaint.

Earlier this week, the JSC said it would set up a subcommittee which would interview some of the judges involved in the dispute. It would then report back to the complaints committee of the JSC on 15 August.

In court papers delivered to acting judge Brian Spilg, the newspaper groups say the JSC did not have the power to make the decision because it had already decided in July 2008 to hold a formal inquiry into the dispute.

While two days of the formal inquiry — April 7 and 8 — were declared unlawful by the court, the newspapers say the inquiry had already begun on 1 April.

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