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Leona Theron

The Honourable
Leona Theron
Justice of the Constitutional Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2017
Appointed byJacob Zuma
Preceded byJohann van der Westhuizen
Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal
In office
1 December 2010 – 30 June 2017
Appointed byJacob Zuma
Judge of the High Court
In office
15 October 1999 – 30 November 2010
Appointed byThabo Mbeki
DivisionKwaZulu-Natal
Personal details
Born
Leona Valerie Theron

(1966-11-07) 7 November 1966 (age 58)
Wentworth, Durban
Natal, South Africa
SpouseCharles Sarjoo
Alma materUniversity of Natal
Georgetown University

Leona Valerie Theron (born 7 November 1966) is a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Before her elevation in July 2017, she served in the Supreme Court of Appeal between December 2010 and June 2017. She is the first Coloured judge to serve in the Constitutional Court.

Born in Durban, Theron was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa in December 1990. When she was appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in October 1999, she was the youngest judge in the country. She was first interviewed for appointment to the Constitutional Court for in December 2008; President Jacob Zuma appointed her in 2017 after the retirement of Justice Johann van der Westhuizen.

Early life and education

Theron was born on 7 November 1966 in Durban.[1] She grew up in a low-income family in Wentworth, which was designated as a Coloured area under apartheid.[2][3] Although she was considered Coloured, one of her grandmothers was Zulu from Umlazi.[4]

She matriculated from Sparks Estate Senior Secondary School in Sydenham and went on to the University of Natal, where she completed a BA in 1987 and an LLB in 1989.[1] During her studies, she worked as an articled clerk at Dawson & Partners in Durban and as a part-time cashier at OK Bazaars in Umhlanga Rocks; in 1989, she also spent several months as an adjunct lecturer at Mangosuthu Technikon.[1]

Later in 1989, Theron moved to Washington, D. C. to attend Georgetown University Law Center on a Fulbright Scholarship. She graduated with an LLM in 1990.[2] During that year, she worked for six months as a special assistant to the director of the International Labour Organisation, and she split the summer of 1990 between associateships at the Occupational Safety and Health Law Center and at Reich, Adell & Crost, both in Washington, D. C.[1]

Upon her return to South Africa, Theron was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa in December 1990.[1] She practised at the KwaZulu-Natal Bar for the next nine years,[4] with stints as a trainer at the Community Law Centre in 1990–1991 and as a part-time lecturer at her alma mater in 1994.[1] In the latter half of 1994, she left her practice for four months to work as a provincial adjudication secretary at the KwaZulu-Natal offices of the Independent Electoral Commission, which had just administered South Africa's first post-apartheid elections.[1]

The following year, newly elected President Nelson Mandela appointed her to the Judge White Commission, which was established to investigate the administration of the former TBVC states in preparation for their incorporation into an integrated South African civil service.[2] Theron worked for the commission between January 1995 and May 1997, and in 1995 she also took up a Commonwealth Foundation Fellowship.[1] After leaving the commission in 1997, Theron returned to her legal practice. In addition, between 1998 and 1999, she served stints as an acting judge of the Eastern Cape High Court and KwaZulu-Natal High Court.[1]

KwaZulu-Natal High Court: 1999–2010

On 15 October 1999, Theron joined the bench permanently when she was appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court.[1] Then aged 32, she was the youngest judge in South Africa and the first black female judge to be appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal court.[2][3][5] For this, the Department of Justice named her Woman Achiever of the Year in 2000.[1][4]

Gumede v President

Theron's most notable judgement in the High Court was Gumede v President, which declared certain provisions of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act to be discriminatory and unconstitutional; Theron ruled that women married under customary law were effectively married in community of property, contrary to the statute, and therefore accrued concomitant rights and benefits.[4] The Constitutional Court upheld Theron's order in 2008.[3][6]

Higher courts

During her 11 years in the High Court, Theron served lengthy stints as an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal, first from May 2006 to June 2007 and then from December 2009 to March 2010.[1] During her first acting stint, she wrote a minority judgement in State v Nkomo which dissented from Carole Lewis and Edwin Cameron's decision to reduce the prison sentence of a convicted rapist.[4][6] She later said of the period that, "Coming as junior judge, my first feeling was one of inadequacy."[7][8]

On several occasions, the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted and interviewed her for possible elevation to higher offices – once for a permanent place on the Supreme Court of Appeal, once for the position of KwaZulu-Natal Deputy Judge President, and twice for seats on the Constitutional Court.[9] The first Constitutional Court interview took place in December 2008 ahead of the retirement of Justice Tholie Madala;[6][10] the second took place in September 2009, with a longer shortlist and four seats available on the bench.[11] On the second occasion, Theron was viewed as a frontrunner for appointment,[11] and, following a "friendly" interview,[12] the Judicial Service Commission recommended her to President Jacob Zuma as one of seven candidates suitable for appointment to the four vacancies.[13] However, Zuma elected not to appoint her. The Mail & Guardian suggested that Theron had been earmarked to succeed Vuka Tshabalala as KwaZulu-Natal Judge President,[12] while the opposition Democratic Alliance publicly called on Zuma to replace one of his appointees, Mogoeng Mogoeng, with Theron.[14]

Supreme Court of Appeal: 2010–2017

In October 2010, the Judicial Service Commission interviewed Theron for a new set of vacancies in the Supreme Court of Appeal.[15] The commission recommended her appointment, which was subsequently confirmed by President Zuma, and she joined the bench on 1 December 2010 alongside Steven Majiedt and Willie Seriti.[16] She was the youngest member of the Supreme Court bench at that time.[2] In 2012, Theron wrote the court's majority judgement in Free State Department of Education v Welkom High School; Free State Department of Education v Harmony High School, a matter concerning the exclusion of pregnant learners from two schools in Welkom, Free State; Theron's finding, that provincial governments could not unilaterally impose policy on school governing bodies, was upheld by the Constitutional Court the following year.[4]

Between February and May 2015, Theron was an acting judge in the Constitutional Court, filling the seat of Justice Johann van der Westhuizen;[1][17] during that time, she wrote two unanimous leading judgments for the court and a further two dissents.[4] Later the same year, the Judicial Service Commission interviewed her once more for a permanent Constitutional Court vacancy, this time as one of four candidates vying for the seat of retired Justice Thembile Skweyiya. Though several public-interest organisations supported her candidacy, she was not appointed.[18]

Constitutional Court: 2017–present

In March 2017, Theron was shortlisted for a fourth and final time for a vacancy at the Constitutional Court, arising from Justice van der Westhuizen's retirement. She was viewed as a frontrunner because of the need to improve gender representation on the court, because she was the most senior of the five candidates, and because she would be the first Coloured judge on the Constitutional Court.[19] During her interview, she was asked about the Gumede judgement and also reflected on the lack of collegiality at the Supreme Court of Appeal, saying that she felt she had been subject to sexism and racism.[4][7] The Judicial Service Commission nominated Theron and three others as suitable for the vacancy,[8] and President Zuma elected to appointed Theron.[20] She joined the Constitutional Court on 1 July 2017.[20]

Controversially, in 2021, Theron dissented from the court's majority decision to sentence former President Zuma to imprisonment for contempt of court.[21]

Personal life

Theron is married to businessman Charles Sarjoo, with whom she has four children.[3] They are avid hikers,[2] and she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to celebrate her 50th birthday.[3]

She formerly had various business interests of her own.[22] She was a founding member of the South African chapter of the International Association of Women Judges,[2] and she was its vice-president of programs between 2003 and 2007.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Justice Theron, Leona Valerie". Constitutional Court of South Africa. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Justice Leona Valerie Theron". Our Constitution. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Justice Leona Theron's hard-working journey to the highest court". Cape Times. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Judge Leona Theron". Judges Matter. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  5. ^ Bhalla, Nita; Chandran, Rina (25 September 2020). "In Justice Ginsburg's footsteps: seven lawyers fighting for equality around the world". Reuters. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Alcock, Sello S. (17 December 2008). "Judge with character". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b Rabkin, Franny (4 April 2017). "Racial tension, lack of collegiality rife at Supreme Court of Appeal, JSC hears". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b Rabkin, Franny (7 April 2017). "Race tensions on the SCA ripped open". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Book of SA Women: Judges". The Mail & Guardian. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  10. ^ Alcock, Sello S. (21 November 2008). "Constitutional Court shortlist released". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  11. ^ a b Alcock, Sello S. (18 September 2009). "D-Day for Concourt candidates". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  12. ^ a b Alcock, Sello S. (24 September 2009). "Constitutional Court hearings: Now it's up to Zuma". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  13. ^ "No place for Hlophe on Concourt shortlist". The Mail & Guardian. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  14. ^ Alcock, Sello S. (11 October 2009). "An opportunity for women missed". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Still too few black judges". Sunday Times. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  16. ^ "President Zuma appoints Judges to the Supreme Court of Appeal, Competition Appeal Court and the various divisions of the High Courts". South African Government. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  17. ^ Benjamin, Chantelle (27 January 2015). "Acting Concourt judges appointments boast a female majority". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  18. ^ Evans, Sarah (25 June 2015). "Top court nominations begin to address judicial gender injustice". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  19. ^ Rabkin, Franny (31 March 2017). "A solid list of candidates line up for a ConCourt vacancy". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  20. ^ a b "President Jacob Zuma appoints Justice Theron as Judge of the Constitutional Court". South African Government. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  21. ^ Mafora, Dan (27 July 2021). "'My sister is mistaken' and other responses to dissent in Zuma contempt case". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  22. ^ "New Constitutional Court judge's links to Zuma need scrutiny – NGO". News24. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
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