Frans Malan | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal | |
| In office 1 September 2009 –2014 | |
| Appointed by | Jacob Zuma |
| Judge of the High Court | |
| In office 1 July 1997 –31 August 2009 | |
| Appointed by | Nelson Mandela |
| Division | Transvaal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francois Retief Malan 15 January 1944 Bethlehem,Orange Free State Union of South Africa |
| Education | Helpmekaar Kollege |
| Alma mater | University of Pretoria |
Francois Retief Malan (born 15 January 1944) is a South African retired judge who served in the Supreme Court of Appeal from 2009 to 2014. Before his elevation to the appellate court,he was a judge of the Gauteng High Court from 1997 to 2009,and he also served as a judge of the Competition Appeal Court. He was formerly a legal academic at the Rand Afrikaans University,where he was an expert on banking law.
Malan was born on 15 January 1944 in Bethlehem in the Orange Free State. [1] He matriculated at Helpmekaar Boys School in Johannesburg,where he was Dux Scholar, [2] and went on to the University of Pretoria,completing a BA in law cum laude in 1965 and an LLB cum laude in 1967. [1] After his graduation,he completed an apprenticeship and briefly taught commercial law at the University of South Africa. [2] Thereafter he was practised as an advocate at the Johannesburg Bar between 1968 and 1971. [1]
In 1971,however,Malan joined the faculty of the Rand Afrikaans University;as a senior lecturer in law,his responsibilities included presenting graduate-level coursework in banking law. [2] He was promoted to professor of law in 1973. [2] At the same time,he studied towards his LLD at the University of Pretoria,which he completed in 1975. [1] He remained at the Rand Afrikaans University thereafter,with stints for research abroad,and he served as the dean of the university's law faculty in 1982 and again in 1987. [2] From 1987 to 1997,he was the director of the university's Centre for Banking Law, [1] and he was appointed as a part-time consultant to the South African Futures Exchange in 1994. [2]
On 1 July 1997,Malan joined the bench as a judge of the Gauteng Division (then the Transvaal Division) of the High Court of South Africa. [1] During his 12 years in that court,sitting in the Johannesburg High Court,he also served lengthy periods in the Competition Appeal Court between 2001 and 2009; [1] he was an acting judge there until 2007,when President Thabo Mbeki appointed him permanently as a judge of the Competition Appeal Court. [3]
In July 2009,he was among the candidates whom the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted and interviewed for possible elevation to the Supreme Court of Appeal. [4] The Judicial Service Commission recommended him and Ronnie Bosielo for appointment;his candidacy was reportedly strongly supported by the president of the Supreme Court of Appeal,Lex Mpati,who admired his banking law expertise. [5] President Jacob Zuma confirmed his appointment to the Supreme Court of Appeal with effect from 1 September 2009, [1] and he served in the appellate court until his retirement in 2014. [6]
He is married to Susanna Wilhelmina Cillie,a mathematician,with whom he has three children. [2]