The Chief Justice of the Cape Colony was the most senior judge in the
British Cape colony and the head of its
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. The office was created by the 1827 Charter of Justice, by which the colonial government overhauled the administration of justice at the Cape, and ceased to exist in 1910 upon the creation of the
Union of South Africa.
List of Chief Justices
Before 1827, the senior judicial figure at the Cape was
Johannes Andreas Truter, who presided in the ''Raad van Justitie''. After the creation of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justices were:
*
Sir John Wylde (1827-1858)
*
Sir William Hodges (1858-1868)
*
Sir Sydney Smith Bell (1868-1873)
*
Sir John Henry de Villers (1873-1910)
In 1910, the Union of South Africa was created, and De Villiers became its
Chief Justice.
References
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Cape Colony judges