Judgments of the Constitutional Court of South Africa |
---|
The table below lists the judgments of the Constitutional Court of South Africa delivered in 2023. [1]
The members of the court at the start of 2023 were Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, and judges Jody Kollapen, Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Steven Majiedt, Rammaka Mathopo, Nonkosi Mhlantla, Owen Rogers, Leona Theron and Zukisa Tshiqi. [2] [3] [4]
The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction.
The Chief Justice of South Africa is the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the courts.
Baaitse Elizabeth "Bess" Nkabinde-Mmono is a South African retired judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from January 2006 to December 2017. During that time, she was acting Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa from 23 May 2016 to 7 June 2017. She joined the bench in November 1999 as a judge of the Bophuthatswana Provincial Division.
Narandran "Jody" Kollapen is a South African judge who joined the Constitutional Court of South Africa on 1 January 2022. He was appointed to the apex court by President Cyril Ramaphosa after a decade of service in the High Court of South Africa. He is also a former chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission.
Sisi Virginia Khampepe is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa between October 2009 and October 2021. Formerly a prominent labour lawyer, she joined the bench in December 2000 as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division. She was also a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Raymond Mnyamezeli Mlungisi "Ray" Zondo is a South African judge who is currently serving as Chief Justice of South Africa since 2022. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Zondo as South Africa's new chief justice with effect from 1 April 2022. He served as acting Chief Justice from 11 October 2021, when Mogoeng Mogoeng retired, until 31 March 2022.
Steven Arnold Majiedt is a South African judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He joined the Constitutional Court in October 2019 as an appointee of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Formerly a practicing advocate, he served in the Supreme Court of Appeal from 2010 to 2019 and in the Northern Cape High Court from 2000 to 2010.
Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya is the Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa. She was formerly the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal from 2017 to 2022. She joined the bench in May 2000 as a judge of the Transkei Division of the High Court of South Africa and was elevated to the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2006.
Rammaka Steven Mathopo is a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Before his elevation to that court in January 2022, he served in the Supreme Court of Appeal between June 2015 and December 2021. He was formerly a judge of the Gauteng High Court from January 2006 to May 2015, and he practised as an attorney for 17 years before then.
Owen Lloyd Rogers is a South African judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Before his appointment to that court in August 2022, he served in the Western Cape Division of the High Court for nine years, having joined the bench in February 2013. Formerly an advocate and senior counsel at the Cape Bar, he was also a judge of the Competition Appeal Court between 2016 and 2022.
Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. She joined the appellate court in December 2023 after 13 years in the Gauteng High Court. Before her appointment to the bench in October 2010, she practiced as an advocate of the High Court in Johannesburg; she was involved in constitutional litigation, including through the Legal Resources Centre, and also served a stint in corporate advisory at Werksmans.
Annali Christelle Basson is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. She was appointed to the Gauteng Division in January 2016 after serving in the Labour Court from 2007 to 2016. Before her appointment to the bench, she was a legal academic at the University of South Africa, where she specialised in labour law and mercantile law. She was an acting judge in the Constitutional Court in 2018 and was shortlisted for permanent appointment to that court in 2019.
Lebotsang Orphan "Ronnie" Bosielo was a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Formerly a judge of the High Court of South Africa, he served in the appellate court from October 2009 until his death in May 2018. He was an acting judge in the Constitutional Court in 2012 and 2016, and he was thrice nominated unsuccessfully for permanent appointment to the apex court.
Economic Freedom Fighters and Others v Speaker of the National Assembly and Another is a 2017 decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa on Parliament's constitutional obligation to hold the President accountable for his conduct. In a majority judgment written by Justice Chris Jafta, the court ordered the National Assembly to make rules regulating presidential impeachment under section 89 of the Constitution and to use those rules to determine whether President Jacob Zuma had committed impeachable conduct in failing to comply with a report by the Public Protector. Arising from the Nkandlagate scandal, the case was politically sensitive, and critics held that the court's order transgressed the separation of powers.