Entries by LSSA

LSSA saddened at the passing of Judge Jake Moloi

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The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) is deeply saddened by the news of the death of Free State High Court Judge Jake Moloi, as advised by Judge President Mahube Molemela on Friday. The late Judge Moloi was Co-Chairperson of the LSSA in 1999 to 2000. ‘Judge Moloi, then President of the Black Lawyers Association (BLA), signed the constitution of the LSSA on behalf of the BLA when the LSSA was established in March 1998. He was one of the persons who was instrumental in negotiations which brought the six constituent members of the LSSA – the four statutory provincial law societies, the BLA and the National Association of Democratic Lawyers – together to establish the LSSA as a representative body for the attorneys’ profession post-1994,’ say LSSA Co-Chairpersons David Bekker and Walid Brown.

After serving in the Department of Justice as interpreter, prosecutor and magistrate, he joined law firm Schoeman & Kellerman in Welkom as a candidate attorney. In 1979 he became the Free State’s first black attorney, opening his own practice, Jake Moloi & Partners, where he was a practising attorney until 1998. In 1996 he became a member of the Amnesty Committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He was President of the Black Lawyers Association from 1997 to 2001

With LLM degrees in Human Rights and International Trade Law, Judge Moloi was contracted by the European Union in Brussels to assist in regulating and improving international trade relations from 2003 to 2006. Upon his return to South Arica, he served as an acting judge on the Free State, Northern and Western Cape Benches for several terms in 2008 and 2009, and was appointed a permanent judge in the Free State Division of the High Court in 2009.

The LSSA is deeply saddened at the loss of this giant of the legal profession who was so instrumental in unifying attorneys in this country. The LSSA wishes to uphold his memory by continuing to act in the interests of the profession.

We extend the sincere condolences of the attorneys’ profession to Judge Moloi’s family and friends, and to his fellow judges on the Free State Bench.

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE CO-CHAIRPERSONS OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA, WALID BROWN AND DAVID BEKKER
by the Law Society of South Africa Communication Department
Contact: Barbara Whittle, Communication Manager, barbara@LSSA.org.za (012) 366 8800 or 083 380 1307
Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele, Communications Officer, nomfundom@LSSA.org.za Tel: (012) 366 8800 or 072 402 6344.
 

Appointment of Madam Justice Leona Theron of the Supreme Court of Appeal as a Justice of the Constitutional Court

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The President and Council of the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society welcomes the appointment of Supreme Court Appeal Judge Leona Theron as a Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Notwithstanding her humble beginnings she persevered in her chosen profession with commitment, determination, energetic application and was soon regarded as a highly respected advocate. At the very young age of 33 Justice Theron was one of the youngest appointees to judicial office and was thereafter appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

In such office she further distinguished herself and built an enviable reputation and illuminating career respected both by her peers and the legal profession both as a practitioner and subsequently as a Judge. She assiduously applied the provisions of our noble Constitution in the belief that our survival, prosperity and greatness as a nation was dependent on our ability as a nation, through its institutions of governance, to give content to the values of the Constitution. These, inter alia, address the issues of dignity, equality and freedom as well as address historical and legacies issues of discrimination and socio-economic inequality.

In 2008 Theron handed down a seminal judgment in the KZN High Court when she ruled that women in customary marriages were, in effect, married in community of property and so accrued similar rights and benefits.

In Gumede (born Shange) v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others, Theron wrote that the “proprietary regime established by the codification of customary law, is, prima facie, discriminatory. It is discriminatory as only South African women are subjected by the law to such consequences. The discrimination is on two of the prohibited grounds listed in Section 9(3) of the Constitution, namely race and gender.”

Justice Theron, in her private life, is a deeply committed to her family and friends. In the past she has made time for an active engagement in the training of aspirant Judges; she is an accomplished pianist and violinist and also has a passion for poetry.

Her appointment is an inspired one and will be a further credit to the esteem in which the South Africa judiciary is held, especially for its independence.

LSSA welcomes the appointment of Justice Raymond Zondo as Deputy Chief Justice

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The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) welcomes the appointment of Justice Raymond Zondo as Deputy Chief Justice, as announced by the President this afternoon.

‘Justice Zondo brings 20 years of experience in the judiciary to the Office of Deputy Chief Justice. We offer the support of the attorneys’ profession to Justice Zondo in his new role as Deputy Chief Justice,’ say LSSA Co-Chairpersons David Bekker and Walid Brown.

The LSSA supported the nomination of Justice Zondo and recommended his appointment as Deputy Chief Justice in correspondence to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) prior to his interview.

Justice Zondo served as a judge of the Labour Court and then as President of the Labour Appeal Court prior to his appointment as an Acting Judge of the Constitutional Court from November 2011 to May 2012. He was appointed as Justice of the Constitutional Court in September 2012.

‘The Constitutional Court functions mostly as a Court of Appeal. To this end, the experience that Justice Zondo has obtained as President of the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court has been invaluable,’ say Mr Bekker and Mr Brown.

They add; ‘As Judge of the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts he handed down a number of judgements which shaped the development of a sound labour law jurisprudence for our country. During his leadership as President of the Labour Appeal Court, he was responsible for the transformation of that court in terms of racial and gender composition.’

In his documents submitted to the JSC, Justice Zondo mentioned the challenges facing the country regarding the appointment of women to leadership positions in the judiciary. ‘We urge Justice Zondo to take concrete steps to ensure that women are appointed to leadership positions in the judiciary,’ say Mr Bekker and Mr Brown.

 

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE CO-CHAIRPERSONS OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA, WALID BROWN AND DAVID BEKKER
by the Law Society of South Africa Communication Department
Contact: Barbara Whittle, Communication Manager, barbara@LSSA.org.za (012) 366 8800 or 083 380 1307
Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele, Communications Officer, nomfundom@LSSA.org.za Tel: (012) 366 8800 or 072 402 6344.