# summary - Link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/chief-justice-nominations/summary/ - Published: 2021-10-05T15:08:17+02:00 - Author: dearSA [ View the Chief Justice nominations campaign](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/chief-justice-nominations/) ### BIOGRAPHIES OF NOMINEES Click on a PHOTO to view. ![John-Hlophe](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/20190721/ John-Hlophe-192x192.jpg "John-Hlophe") Judge President John Hlophe ![Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/ 2021/10/20190721/Madlanga-220x220.jpg "Madlanga") Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga ![Justice Mandisa Maya](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/ 10/20190720/Mmaya.jpg "Mmaya") Justice Mandisa Maya ![Dr-Wallace-Amos-Mgoqi](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/ 10/20190719/Dr-Wallace-Amos-Mgoqi-180x180.jpg "Dr-Wallace-Amos-Mgoqi") Dr Wallace Amos Mgoqi ![Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/ 2021/10/20190720/Mkhwebane-225x225.jpg "Mkhwebane") Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane ![Judge President Dunstan Mlambo](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/ 2021/10/20190720/Mlambo-200x200.jpg "Mlambo") Judge President Dunstan Mlambo ![Adv. Alan Nelson, SC](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/ 10/20190720/Alan-Nelson.jpg "Alan Nelson") Adv. Alan Nelson, SC ![Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/ uploads/2021/10/20190720/Zondo-213x213.jpg "Zondo") Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo Close ### Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo **AGE AND GENDER** African male, 61 years of age. **CURRENT POSITION** Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa and currently the Acting Chief Justice. **QUALIFICATIONS** - B. Iuris (UZ); LLB (UKZN); LLM (cum laude) (Labour Law) (UNISA); LLM (with specialisation in commercial law)(UNISA); LLM (Patent Law) (UNISA). **PREVIOUS JUDICIAL POSITIONS:** - Judge, Labour Court, 01 November 1997 – August 1999; - Judge, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, April 1999; - Judge President of the Labour Appeal Court and Labour Court May 2000 – April 2010; - Acting Justice of the Constitutional Court, November 2011 – May 2012; - Justice of the Constitutional Court, 01 September 2012; - Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, 01 June 2017; - Acting Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, 01-30 November 2017, 01 July 2021 to date. **PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD** * Research Fellow at the Legal Resources Centre, Durban, 1984 – February 1985; * Articled Clerk under Mrs Victoria Mxenge at Mxenge, Ngxingweni and Shezi in Durban, March 1985 – August 1986;Articled Clerk at Mthembu & Co, Durban, Aug/Sep 1985 – August 1986; * Articled of Clerk at Chennels Albertyn under Mr Chris Albertyn, September 1986 – April 1988; * Clerk at Mathe & Co, May 1988—May 1989; * Attorney and partner at Mathe & Co. name of the firm changed to Mathe and Zondo Incorporated, May 1989; * Member of a Committee of the Goldstone Commission which investigated political violence that occurred in certain mines in Welkom arising out of VAT stay- aways; and Member of a Committee of the Goldstone Commission which investigated political violence in the South Coast of KwaZulu Natal, 1991 – 1992; * Member of a Ministerial Committee appointed by the then Minister of Labour, Mr Tito Mboweni, to draft a Labour Relations Bill for the democratic South Africa; Aug 1994 – March 1995; * First Chairperson of the Governing Body of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), 1995/1996 – early 1997. **LEADERSHIP POSITIONS / EXTRA-JUDICIAL WORK** - Chairperson of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, January 2018 – date; - Acting Chairperson of the Judicial Conduct Committee of the Judicial Service Commission, June 2017 – date; - Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the South African Judicial Education Institute (SAJEI) Council, 2018 to present; - Member of the SAJEI Council and presently Acting Chairperson of the SAJEI Council, 2018 to present. Close ### Adv. Alan Nelson, SC **AGE AND GENDER** White male, 69 years of age. **CURRENT POSITION** Accredited Mediator with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR). **QUALIFICATIONS** - BA; LLB (cum laude) (University of Stellenbosch). **PREVIOUS JUDICIAL POSITIONS:** - Acting Judge of the Western Cape Division of the High Court. **PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD** * Advocate, 1978; * Senior Counsel conferred in 1993; * Lecturer in law at the University of the Western Cape; * Lecturer and Trainer in mediation under the auspices of the University of Cape Town’s UCT@Work’s post graduate program. **LEADERSHIP POSITIONS / EXTRA-JUDICIAL WORK** - Founder of the Mediation Foundation for Peace and Justice; and the Nelson Peace Centre; - Adv Nelson serves on the following mediation panels namely: Winelands Mediation Group, Mediation in Motion; Conflict Dynamics; and Western Cape Government’s ADR Forum; - Chairperson of Mediation in Motion NPO; - Mediation Director of the South African Medico-Legal Association; - Founding member of the Restoration Foundation. Close ### Judge President Dunstan Mlambo **AGE AND GENDER** African Male, 62 years of age. **CURRENT POSITION** Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, appointed as such on 01 November 2012. **QUALIFICATIONS** - BLLD degree honoris causa – University of Fort Hare; LLB – University of South Africa; B. Proc – University of the North (now University of Limpopo). **PREVIOUS JUDICIAL POSITIONS:** - Judge President, Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court 2010 – 2012; - Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa 2003 – 2010; - Judge, Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg 1999 – 2003; - Judge, Labour Court 1997 – 1999. **PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD** * Article Clerk, Professional Assistant and Associate Partner at Bowman, Gillfillan, Hayman, Godfrey Incorporated 1988 – 1993; * Founding Partner, Mlambo Modise Attorneys 1993 – 1997. * > **LEADERSHIP POSITIONS / EXTRA-JUDICIAL WORK** - Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Legal Aid South Africa from 2002 - February 2019; - Chairperson of the Expert Group Meetings of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – meeting that approved the Draft United Nations (UN) Principles and Guidelines on Access to Justice in Criminal Justice Systems in 2011, which was subsequently adopted by the UN a year later; - Chairperson of the UNODC Expert Group Meeting that finalised the revision of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, now called the Nelson Mandela Rules; - Chairperson of the Court of Military Appeals since 2012; - Chairperson, Judiciary and Administration IT Steering Committee (JAIT) since 2012; - Editor in Chief of the Judiciary magazine; - Chairperson, Law Reform Commission’s Mediation Sub Committee; - Council member of the world body of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Law Judges (IARMJ) and was elected President of the Africa Chapter of the Association since 1 March 2020; - Judge Mlambo trained, admitted and practiced as a Mediator by the Independent Mediation Services of South Africa (IMSSA); - From June 2011 Judge President Mlambo has served as chairperson and board member on a number of boards that include the Board of Directors of the Centre for the Advancement of Community Advice Offices in South Africa (CAOSA) and the Board of the International Legal Foundation, a New York based legal NGO that is involved in the establishment of public defender offices internationally. He also served as Board member of Africa Legal Aid, an NGO based in the Hague which facilitates dialogues with the African diaspora on Justice issues in Africa. Close ### Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane **AGE AND GENDER** African female, 51 years of age. **CURRENT POSITION** Public Protector of the Republic of South Africa **QUALIFICATIONS** - B.Proc (University of Limpopo, formerly University of the North), LLB (University of Limpopo, formerly University of the North), Diploma in Corporate Law (Company Law, Close Corporations) (RAU), Higher Diploma in Tax Law (RAU) **PREVIOUS JUDICIAL POSITIONS:** - None **PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD** * Director: Country Information and cooperation Management, Department of Home Affairs, July 2014 – October 2016; * Counsellor Immigration and Civic Services, South African Embassy in the Republic of China, April 2010 – July 2014; * Director: Refugee Affairs, Department of Home Affairs, June 2005 – September 2009; * Acting Chief Director Asylum Seekers Management, Department of Home Affairs, October 2009 – March 2010; * Senior Investigator and Acting Provincial Representative (Director) (Office of the Public Protector), May 1999 – May 2005; * Senior Researcher, South African Human Rights Commission, September 1998– May 1999; * Legal Administration Officer, Department of Justice, December 1994 – August 1998. * > **LEADERSHIP POSITIONS / EXTRA-JUDICIAL WORK** - President of African Ombudsman and Mediation; - Board member of International Ombudsman Institute; - Spearheaded the centralisation of refugee affairs; - Draft business plan of Refugee Affairs and Beijing Mission, capacitated the offices and allocated all needed resources including the overseeing of the refugee backlog project; - Facilitated the establishment of the Visa outsource offices both in Beijing and Shanghai. Standardised the operations of the two Missions, improved customer service and service delivery; - Managing the budget of more than R 60 millions of Refugee Affairs. Close ### Dr Wallace Amos Mgoqi **AGE AND GENDER** African Male, 72 years of age. **CURRENT POSITION** Mediator, 1988 to date and Arbitrator, 1993 to date **QUALIFICATIONS** - BA. Soc. Sc (UNISA), LLB (UCT) ITP (Harvard) DLC (IDLI) Rome, LLD (h.c)(UCT), LLD (hc) CUNY, USA, LLD (hc) UNITRA (Walter Sisulu University) **PREVIOUS JUDICIAL POSITIONS:** - Acting judge on the Land Claims Court, January 2014 to March 2019; - Assessor with Judge Cassim Sardiwalla in the Salem restitution case, July 2011 – Nov 2013 - Assessor with Acting Judge Mpshe in the Crocodile River restitution case, July 2011 – Nov 2011. **PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD** * Chief Land Claims Commissioner, 1999; * Former Regional Land Claims Commissioner, 1995-1998; * City Manager, City of Cape Town, 2003 – 2006; * Member of the Commission for Gender Equality, June 2012 – June 2019; * Postal Clerk, Langa Post Office, Cape Town, 1974 – 1975; * Sales Representative, Old Mutual Insurance, 1976; * Community worker and interpreter at Western Province Council of Churches, 1978 – 1979; * Fellowship at the Legal Resource Centre, Cape Town, 1985; * Obtained Articles of Clerkship with Attorney Syfret Godlonton-Fuller Moore Inc, 1986; * Admitted as an Attorney of the Supreme Court of South Africa, 1988. * > **LEADERSHIP POSITIONS / EXTRA-JUDICIAL WORK** - Non-Executive Chairman, Ayo Technology Solutions Lt, August 2018 to date; - Non-Executive Director, Communicare, 1995; - Non-Executive Director of the Syfrets Group LTD, February 1995; - Non-Executive Director of Safmarine, May 1995; - Non-Executive Director, Old Mutual Board, September 1995; - Commissioner for Ikapa Municipality, 1994; - National Chairperson, Trust for Community Outreach and Education, 1983 – 2005; - Honorary President of the Business Skills and Development Centre, April 1996; - Member of Board of Governors at the University of Cape Town, 1996; - Member of Board of Directors of Sekunjalo Investments Group, 1998; - Board member of the National Development Agency (NDA), October 2007. Close ### Justice Mandisa Maya **AGE AND GENDER** African female, 57 years of age. **CURRENT POSITION** President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, 2017 to date. **QUALIFICATIONS** - B.Proc (University of Transkei); LLB (University of Natal); LLM (Duke University, North Carolina, United States of America) **PREVIOUS JUDICIAL POSITIONS:** - Judge, Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, Mthatha 2000; - Acting Judge, Labour Courts 2004; - Acting Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal, 2005; - Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal, 2006; - Acting Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Namibia, 2008; - Acting Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, 2012; - Acting Judge of Appeal, Appeal Court of Lesotho, 2015; - Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, 2015; - Acting President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, 2016 – 2017. **PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD** - Attorney’s Clerk, Dazana Mafungo Inc. Mthatha, 1987; - Court Interpreter and Prosecutor, Mthatha, 1988 – 1989; - Legal Policy Counsel & Lobbyist Women’s Legal Defense Fund, Washington DC; - Assistant State Law Adviser, Mthatha, 1991 – 1993; - Law Lecturer, University of Transkei, 1993 – 1995; - Practising Advocate, Transkei Society of Advocates, 1994 -1999. **LEADERSHIP POSITIONS / EXTRA-JUDICIAL WORK** - Director: International Association of Women Judges: Africa Region, 2021; - Chancellor: University of Mpumalanga, 2021; - Council Member: Duke Law | Bolch Judicial Institute Leadership, 2020; - President of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges, 2018; - Deputy President of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges, 2008 – 2010; - Member: South African Judicial Service Commission, 2017; - Member: South African Judicial Education Institute Council 2017; - Board Member: University of the Free State Law Faculty, 2019; - Board Member: South African Law Journal Editorial, 2019; - Board Member: Yearbook of South African Law Advisory, 2019; - Board Member: South African National Bar Examination, 2017; - Chairperson: South African Law Reform Commission, 2013-2016; - Member: Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies, 2014; - Lawyers Against Abuse Patron, 2013; - Editorial Board Member: University of Transkei Law Journal, 2005-2004. Close ### Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga **AGE AND GENDER** African male, 59 years of age **CURRENT POSITION** Justice of the Constitutional Court, 01 August 2013 to date. **QUALIFICATIONS** - B Juris Degree (University of Transkei); LLB (Rhodes University); LLM (cum laude) (University of Notre Dame, United of States of America); Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree (honoris causa) (Walter Sisulu University) **PREVIOUS JUDICIAL POSITIONS:** - Judge, Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, Mthatha (Transkei Division) - Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal, December 1998 – May 1999; - Acting Judge President, Transkei Division of the High Court, June 1999 – August 2000; - Judge of the Competition Appeal Court, 1999 – 2000; - Acting Justice of the Constitutional Court, August 2000 – May 2001; - Justice Madlanga resigned as Judge in 2001; **PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD** - Part-time law lecturer at the University of Transkei, 1987; - Full-time law lecturer, University of Transkei, 1988 – 1989; - Practising as an Advocate in the Eastern Cape, Mthatha 1991 – 1996; - Conferred as Senior Counsel, 2001; - Member of the Competition Tribunal, 2003 – 2012; - Deputy Chairperson of the Competition Tribunal, 2009 – 2012. **LEADERSHIP POSITIONS / EXTRA-JUDICIAL WORK** - Appointed by the Minister of Finance at the time, as the Chairperson of the Exchange Control and Income Tax Amnesty Unit, 2003 – 2008; - Chairperson of the Transkei Society of Advocates (now Mthatha Society of Advocates), 2005 – 2007; - Member of the Judicial Service Commission, 2010 – 2012; - Chief Evidence Leader of the “Marikana Commission of Enquiry”, 2012 to 2013; - Inaugural editor-in-chief of the South African Judicial Education Journal, a journal published under the auspices of the South African Judicial Education Institute, 2017; - Member of the Advisory Boards of the following publications: De Jure, South African Law Journal, and Yearbook of South African Law, 2017 – 2020. Close ### Judge President John Hlophe **AGE AND GENDER** African Male, 62 years of age. **CURRENT POSITION** Judge President of the Western Cape Division of the High Court, appointed as such on 01 May 2000. **QUALIFICATIONS** - B Juris (University of Fort Hare); LLB (University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg); - LLM (University of Cambridge, England); PhD (University of Cambridge, England); LLD (honoris causa) **PREVIOUS JUDICIAL POSITIONS:** - Judge of the Western Cape Division of the High Court, 1995; - Acting Deputy Judge President of the Cape of Good Hope Provincial Division, 1998 - Member of the Industrial Court of South Africa and Transkei. **PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD** - Professor and Head of the Department of Constitutional and Public International Law (now called the Department of Public Law) at the University of Transkei( Now called Walter Sisulu University), 1994; - Lecturer in Industrial Relations at Damelin Management School (Umtata Branch); 1993 – 1994; - Part-time Lecturer in Public Law I and Public Law II at Transkei Technikon( Butterworth) 1993 – 1994); - Between 1991 – 1994: Vice-Dean of Law Faculty Acting Dean of Law for 2 terms; - Chief-Editor of the Transkei Law Journal at the University of Transkei; - Lecturer at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1988 – 1990; - Roman Law Tutor at the University of Cambridge, 1987; - Senior Lecturer at the University of Zululand (KwaDlangezwa), 1985; - Fellow at the Legal Resources Centre (Durban), 1984 **LEADERSHIP POSITIONS / EXTRA-JUDICIAL WORK** - Member of the South African Law Commission – Project on International and Domestic Arbitration; - Chancellor of the Peninsula Technikon, Western Cape Province in February 2003; - Represented South Africa at the Hague Conference on Private International Law (the multi-lateral treaty on: “Recognition, Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters” (Den Haag in April 1996); - Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town, 1999; - Honorary Professor, University of South Africa (UNISA) ### DOWNLOAD DOCUMENTS Terms of Reference for Shortlisting Panel ⌊Loader⌉ Loading... ⌊EAD Logo⌉ Taking too long? ⌊Reload⌉ Reload document | [ ⌊Open⌉ Open in new tab ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/20190540/TOR-for-Shortlisting-Panel-Final.pdf) [Download [253.85 KB] ](https://cdn.dearsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/20190540/TOR-for-Shortlisting-Panel-Final.pdf) President Cyril Ramaphosa has published the names of the qualifying candidates for the next Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa. In a statement on Monday, the President thanked members of the public for responding to his invitation to participate in the process of nominating the next Chief Justice. “The process began on 16 September 2021 when President Ramaphosa called on South Africans to nominate suitably qualified candidates for this critical position as Head of the Judiciary of South Africa. This invitation was intended to promote transparency and enable public participation,” the Presidency said. The submission process closed at midnight on 01 October 2021. “In response to the call for public participation, the public made 148 submissions which consisted of 25 names. Some of these individuals featured in more than one submission. Of the 25 names, only eight nominations met the criteria as set out in the call by the President,” the Presidency said. The eight names that qualified for nomination as set out in the criteria are, in alphabetical order: 1. Judge President John Hlophe 2. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga 3. Justice Mandisa Maya 4. Dr Wallace Amos Mgoqi 5. Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane 6. Judge President Dunstan Mlambo 7. Adv. Alan Nelson, SC 8. Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo The biographies of the nominees are available on www.thepresidency.gov.za for inspection by the public. South Africans are now invited to submit in writing any objections they may have regarding the nominees by 5pm on Friday, 15 October 2021. The Nominations Panel, which is chaired by Judge Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, will consider objections before submitting a shortlist of three to five names to the President. The Panel is required to report to the President by Friday, 29 October 2021 and its Terms of Reference are also available on the Presidency website. ### IN THE MEDIA * EWN – [Here Are The Top 8 Candidates Vying For Chief Justice Post](https://ewn.co.za/2021/10/04/ramaphosa-names-top-8-candidate-vying-for-chief-justice-post) * EWN – [Justice League: Meet The 8 Candidates Shortlisted To Be Sa’s Next Chief Justice](https://ewn.co.za/2021/10/04/justice-league-these-are-the-8-candidates-shortlisted-to-be-sa-s-next-chief-justice)