Chief Justice of South Africa
Encyclopedia
The Chief Justice of South Africa is the head of the judiciary of South Africa
, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the courts. The position of Chief Justice was created upon the formation of the Union of South Africa
in 1910, with the Chief Justice of the Cape Colony Sir (John) Henry de Villiers (later, John de Villiers, 1st Baron de Villiers
) being appointed the first Chief Justice of the newly created Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa
.
The position of Chief Justice as it stands today was created by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act of 2001 as an amalgamation of two previous high-ranking judicial positions of Chief Justice and President of the Constitutional Court
. The Chief Justice therefore now presides over the Constitutional Court. The position of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
, the successor court to the Appellate Division, was, as a consequence, renamed President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
graduate and World War II
veteran Michael Corbett. Corbett took office in 1989, succeeding Chief Justice PJ Rabie, who had been scheduled to retire in 1986 at the statutory retirement age of 70, but had had his tenure in office extended ad hoc
by President P.W. Botha
. Leading South African jurisprudential author David Dyzenhaus regards this as one of the most significant examples of the way in which the National Party
manipulated the country's judiciary to ensure that its decisions would be agreeable with the doctrine of Apartheid. According to Dyzenhaus, the only two natural successors to Rabie were both considered unfit for the job - one for being too "weak"; the other too "liberal".
However with the fall of Apartheid imminent, the progressively-minded Corbett was eventually handed the job of Chief Justice in 1989. Although appointed by the National Party
government, Corbett was generally well liked by those in South Africa's new African National Congress
-led government, and upon his retirement in 1996 was given a formal state banquet where President Mandela paid tribute to the Chief Justice's "passion for justice", "sensitivity to racial discrimination", "intellectual rigour" and "clarity of thought".
The first Chief Justice to be appointed in post-apartheid South Africa was Ismail Mahomed
, a leading South African jurist of Indian
descent, who was selected to succeed Corbett in 1997 and eventually took office in 1998. Mahomed held the position until his death in 2000.
Under South Africa's Interim Constitution of 1993 and later the Final Constitution
, the importance of the position of Chief Justice as the position of final judicial authority was temporarily relegated beneath that of the President of the newly created Constitutional Court. Ismail Mohammed had been tipped widely for the job of Constitutional Court President but in 1994, President Nelson Mandela
appointed leading human rights lawyer and director of the Legal Resources Centre Arthur Chaskalson
to the position. In 2001, after Mohammed's death and, consequently, with the position of Chief Justice vacant, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act of 2001 fused the positions of Chief Justice and President of the Constitutional Court into one single job of Chief Justice. Chaskalson was subsequently appointed to the new post, although his tasks remained effectively the same.
In 2005 Chaskalson retired from office and was succeeded by his former deputy Pius Langa
.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the courts. The position of Chief Justice was created upon the formation of the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
in 1910, with the Chief Justice of the Cape Colony Sir (John) Henry de Villiers (later, John de Villiers, 1st Baron de Villiers
John de Villiers, 1st Baron de Villiers
John Henry de Villiers, 1st Baron de Villiers KCMG PC , was a South African lawyer and judge..John de Villiers was the son of Charles Christian de Villiers, of Paarl, Cape of Good Hope. He studied in Berlin and London , was called to the English bar in 1865 and the Cape bar the next year...
) being appointed the first Chief Justice of the newly created Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa
Supreme Court of South Africa
The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1996. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was the highest appellate court in the country...
.
The position of Chief Justice as it stands today was created by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act of 2001 as an amalgamation of two previous high-ranking judicial positions of Chief Justice and President of the Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of South Africa
The Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. In terms of the 1996 Constitution the Constitutional Court established in 1994 continues to hold office. The court began its first sessions in February...
. The Chief Justice therefore now presides over the Constitutional Court. The position of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
The Supreme Court of Appeal is an appellate court in South Africa; it is the highest appeal court except in constitutional matters, which are ultimately decided by the Constitutional Court...
, the successor court to the Appellate Division, was, as a consequence, renamed President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Chief Justice in a new era
At the time of South Africa's democratization in the early 1990s, the position of Chief Justice was held by University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
graduate and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran Michael Corbett. Corbett took office in 1989, succeeding Chief Justice PJ Rabie, who had been scheduled to retire in 1986 at the statutory retirement age of 70, but had had his tenure in office extended ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
by President P.W. Botha
Pieter Willem Botha
Pieter Willem Botha , commonly known as "P. W." and Die Groot Krokodil , was the prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989.First elected to Parliament in 1948, Botha was for eleven years head of the Afrikaner National Party and the...
. Leading South African jurisprudential author David Dyzenhaus regards this as one of the most significant examples of the way in which the National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
manipulated the country's judiciary to ensure that its decisions would be agreeable with the doctrine of Apartheid. According to Dyzenhaus, the only two natural successors to Rabie were both considered unfit for the job - one for being too "weak"; the other too "liberal".
However with the fall of Apartheid imminent, the progressively-minded Corbett was eventually handed the job of Chief Justice in 1989. Although appointed by the National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
government, Corbett was generally well liked by those in South Africa's new African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
-led government, and upon his retirement in 1996 was given a formal state banquet where President Mandela paid tribute to the Chief Justice's "passion for justice", "sensitivity to racial discrimination", "intellectual rigour" and "clarity of thought".
The first Chief Justice to be appointed in post-apartheid South Africa was Ismail Mahomed
Ismail Mahomed
Justice Ismail Mahomed was a South African lawyer who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa and the Supreme Court of Namibia, and co-authored the constitution of Namibia.-Early life:...
, a leading South African jurist of Indian
Asians in South Africa
The majority of the Asian South African population is Indian in origin, most of them descended from indentured workers transported to work in the 19th century on the sugar plantations of the eastern coastal area, then known as Natal. They are largely English speaking, although many also retain the...
descent, who was selected to succeed Corbett in 1997 and eventually took office in 1998. Mahomed held the position until his death in 2000.
Under South Africa's Interim Constitution of 1993 and later the Final Constitution
Constitution of South Africa
The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...
, the importance of the position of Chief Justice as the position of final judicial authority was temporarily relegated beneath that of the President of the newly created Constitutional Court. Ismail Mohammed had been tipped widely for the job of Constitutional Court President but in 1994, President Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
appointed leading human rights lawyer and director of the Legal Resources Centre Arthur Chaskalson
Arthur Chaskalson
Arthur Chaskalson, is a former President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and Chief Justice of South Africa...
to the position. In 2001, after Mohammed's death and, consequently, with the position of Chief Justice vacant, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act of 2001 fused the positions of Chief Justice and President of the Constitutional Court into one single job of Chief Justice. Chaskalson was subsequently appointed to the new post, although his tasks remained effectively the same.
In 2005 Chaskalson retired from office and was succeeded by his former deputy Pius Langa
Pius Langa
Pius Nkonzo Langa was previously Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the bench in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, became Deputy Chief Justice in 2001 and was elevated as Chief Justice in 2005 by Thabo Mbeki. He retired in October 2009.-External links:**...
.
List
- 1910–1914 John de Villiers, 1st Baron de VilliersJohn de Villiers, 1st Baron de VilliersJohn Henry de Villiers, 1st Baron de Villiers KCMG PC , was a South African lawyer and judge..John de Villiers was the son of Charles Christian de Villiers, of Paarl, Cape of Good Hope. He studied in Berlin and London , was called to the English bar in 1865 and the Cape bar the next year...
- 1914–1927 Sir James Rose-Innes
- 1927–1929 Sir William Henry Solomon
- 1929–1932 Sir Jacob de Villiers
- 1932–1936 Sir John Wessels
- 1936–1938 John Stephen Curlewis
- 1938–1939 James Stratford
- 1939–1943 Nicolaas Jacobus de WetNicolaas Jacobus de WetNicolaas Jacobus de Wet was Chief Justice of South Africa and acting Governor-General from 1943 to 1945.Born in 1873, he obtained a law degree from the University of Cambridge in 1895 and was admitted as an advocate in 1896...
- 1943–1950 Ernest Frederick Watermeyer
- 1950–1957 Albert van der Sandt CentlivresAlbert van der Sandt CentlivresAlbert van der Sandt Centlivres was Chief Justice of South Africa from 1950 to 1957. Centlivres studied at the South African College and at New College, Oxford. He was called to the bar in 1910 and took silk in 1927...
- 1957–1959 Henry Alan Fagan
- 1959–1971 Lucas Cornelius SteynLucas Cornelius SteynLucas Cornelius Steyn was Chief Justice of South Africa and, as such, acted as Governor-General on two occasions.Born in 1903, he graduated with law degrees from the University of Stellenbosch in 1926, was admitted as an advocate in 1928, and obtained a doctorate in law in 1929.He was...
- 1971–1974 Newton Ogilvie Thompson
- 1974–1982 Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff
- 1982–1989 Pieter Jacobus Rabie
- 1989–1996 Michael Corbett
- 1998–2000 Ismail MahomedIsmail MahomedJustice Ismail Mahomed was a South African lawyer who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa and the Supreme Court of Namibia, and co-authored the constitution of Namibia.-Early life:...
- 2001–2005 Arthur ChaskalsonArthur ChaskalsonArthur Chaskalson, is a former President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and Chief Justice of South Africa...
- 2005–2009 Pius LangaPius LangaPius Nkonzo Langa was previously Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the bench in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, became Deputy Chief Justice in 2001 and was elevated as Chief Justice in 2005 by Thabo Mbeki. He retired in October 2009.-External links:**...
- 2009–2011 Sandile NgcoboSandile NgcoboS. Sandile Ngcobo is former justice in the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He served as Chief Justice from 2009 to 2011.-Education:...
- 2011– Mogoeng MogoengMogoeng MogoengMogoeng Mogoeng is a judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa. President Jacob Zuma announced Mogoeng as his preferred candidate to fill the vacant post of Chief Justice of South Africa and his appointment was confirmed on 8 September 2011....