Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development

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South Africa
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
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Flag of South Africa
Incumbent
Thembi Nkadimeng
since 3 July 2024
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Style The Honourable
Appointer President of South Africa
Inaugural holder J. B. M. Hertzog
Formation31 May 1910
Deputy Andries Nel
Salary R2 401 633 [1]

The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development is the justice minister in the Cabinet of South Africa. The minister is the political head of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Office of the Chief Justice. DoJCD in turn is responsible for administrative support to the courts, oversight of the National Prosecuting Authority, the provision of legal services to departments of state, and law reform.

Contents

The minister was called the Minister of Justice until 1994, when constitutional matters were added to his portfolio. Between May 2014 and June 2024, the Department of Correctional Services was subsumed under the ministry, which was led by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services. This merger was reversed at the outset of President Cyril Ramaphosa's third cabinet, when a separate Minister of Correctional Services was appointed.

History

In the 20th century, the South African justice minister was called the Minister of Justice. His purview included prisons until late 1990, when President F. W. de Klerk announced extensive prison reforms and established a separate Ministry of Prisons. [2] Constitutional matters were also a separate portfolio under the Minister of Constitutional Development, [3] [4] and then from 1994 under the Minister of Constitutional Development and Provincial Affairs. [5] [6] At the outset of the second cabinet of President Thabo Mbeki in June 1999, constitutional development was detached from provincial affairs and subsumed under justice, under the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. [7]

A further merger took place in May 2014, at the outset of President Jacob Zuma's second cabinet, when correctional services was subsumed under the ministry, creating the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services. [8] [9] However, the Department of Correctional Services remained distinct from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development; although they shared a political head or executive authority, they were operationally and legislatively distinct. [2] They reported to the same parliamentary body, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, but separately. Each of the two deputy ministers was responsible for one portfolio: John Jeffery was responsible for the justice portfolio, [10] and Thabang Makwetla and his successor, Patekile Holomisa, were responsible for correctional services. [11]

Appointing his third cabinet on 30 June 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa reversed the merger effected by Zuma, appointing a Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development alongside a separate Minister of Correctional Services. [12]

Three prime ministers have been Minister of Justice, including two – Jan Smuts and B. J. Vorster – who held the position directly before being elected prime minister. In 2004, Brigitte Mabandla became the first woman to be appointed to the portfolio.

List of ministers

Justice (1910–1999)

MinisterPartyIncumbencyPresidentDeputy
J. B. M. Hertzog SAP 1910–1912 Louis Botha
Jacobus Wilhelmus Sauer SAP 1912–1913 Louis Botha
Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet SAP 1913–1924 Louis Botha

Jan Smuts

Tielman Roos NP 1924–1929 J. B. M. Hertzog
Oswald Pirow NP 1929–1933 J. B. M. Hertzog
Jan Smuts SAP/UP 1933–1939 J. B. M. Hertzog
Colin Fraser Steyn UP 1939–1945 Jan Smuts
Harry Lawrence UP 1945–1948 Jan Smuts
Charles Robberts Swart NP 1948–1959 Daniel François Malan

J. G. Strijdom

Hendrik Verwoerd

Frans Erasmus NP 1959–1961 Hendrik Verwoerd
B. J. Vorster NP 1961–1966 Hendrik Verwoerd
Petrus Cornelius Pelser NP 1966–1974 B. J. Vorster
Jimmy Kruger NP 1974–1979 B. J. Vorster

P. W. Botha

Alwyn Schlebusch NP 1979–1980 P. W. Botha
Kobie Coetsee NP 1980–1994 P. W. Botha

F. W. de Klerk

Dullah Omar ANC 10 May 1994 – 14 June 1999 Nelson Mandela (I)

Justice and Constitutional Development (1999–2014)

MinisterPartyIncumbencyPresidentDeputy
Penuell Maduna ANC 18 June 1999 – 29 April 2004 Thabo Mbeki (I) Cheryl Gillwald
Brigitte Mabandla ANC 29 April 2004 – 24 September 2008 Thabo Mbeki (II) Johnny de Lange
Enver Surty ANC 25 September 2008 – 9 May 2009 Kgalema Motlanthe (I) Johnny de Lange
Jeff Radebe ANC 10 May 2009 – 24 May 2014 Jacob Zuma (I) Andries Nel

John Jeffery

Justice and Correctional Services (2014–2024)

MinisterPartyIncumbencyPresidentDeputies
Michael Masutha ANC 25 May 2014 – 29 May 2019 Jacob Zuma (II)

Cyril Ramaphosa (I)

 John Jeffery (DoJCD)

Thabang Makwetla (DCS)

Ronald Lamola ANC 30 May 2019 – 19 June 2024 Cyril Ramaphosa (II) John Jeffery (DoJCD)

Patekile Holomisa (DCS)

Justice and Constitutional Development (2024–present)

MinisterPartyIncumbencyPresidentDeputies
Thembi Nkadimeng ANC 3 July 2024 – present Cyril Ramaphosa (III) Andries Nel

Institutions overseen by the ministry

The following institutions are housed in the justice and correctional services portfolio, although most have a significant degree of operational and statutory independence:

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References

  1. ↑ "Here's how much South Africa's ministers and other top government officials will get paid this year". BusinessTech. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Administration of Justice". Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Apartheid cabinet supported Witdoek vigilantes". The Mail & Guardian. 11 June 1997. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "Masters of the (late) universe". The Mail & Guardian. 16 April 1999. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "Composition of the Cabinet". Nelson Mandela: The Presidential Years. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Glance At Mandela's Cabinet With AM-South Africa". AP News. 11 May 1994. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Profiles of the cabinet ministers". The Mail & Guardian. 17 June 1999. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "President Jacob Zuma announces members of the National Executive, Pretoria". The Presidency. 25 May 2014. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Wynn, Craig (25 May 2014). "Zuma announces new Cabinet". EWN. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Justice and Correctional Services - Justice [ Deputy Ministry of ]". South African Government. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "Justice and Correctional Services - Corrections [ Deputy Ministry of ]". South African Government. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  12. ↑ "Statement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the appointment of members of the national executive". Presidency of South Africa. 30 June 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.


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