Newly appointed Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has assured the public that the five candidates gunning for two spots in the Constitutional Court will be treated with dignity and respect during the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interviews.

On Tuesday, the JSC kicked off its interviews of the five candidates hoping to fill the two vacant spots. Once the interviews are done, the JSC is required to present President Cyril Ramaphosa with three names more than the number of vacancies at the apex court for his consideration. This means all five candidates' names will be sent to the president.

Before commencing with advocate and former Judge Alan Dodson's interview, Zondo said it would be to the benefit of the public for him to make a few remarks following the commission's meeting on Monday, which he characterised as fruitful and constructive.

"There was complete acceptance from the commissioners without exception that we intend on treating all candidates with respect and courtesy and with due regard to their human dignity, and we'll simply try to establish what we need to establish in order to perform our factions to advise the president on who to appoint.

"There was an acceptance that we will treat all the candidates with respect and dignity, but that doesn't mean that there won't be robust discussions and questioning. It doesn't mean that candidates won't be asked difficult questions. They will be, but everybody must understand that all that is being done is to try and make sure that we do our job properly," Zondo said.

Zondo's preamble came after the JSC interviews for the Chief Justice position came under heavy criticism because of the line of questioning some of the commissioners put to the candidates.

The JSC recently saw a change in commissioners, with advocates Dali Mpofu and Griffiths Madonsela being replaced by senior counsel Kameshni Pillay and Sesi Baloyi.

The other candidates who will be interviewed are acting Justice David Unterhalter, Judge Owen Rogers, who recently acted at the Constitutional Court, Judge Mahube Molemela and Judge Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane.

The interviews are expected to run until Friday.