The Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa is a judge in the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme court, supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was fi ...

and the second-highest judicial post in the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, after the Chief Justice. The post, originally called "Deputy President of the Constitutional Court", was created in September 1995 by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 1995, which was an amendment to the

Interim Constitution A provisional constitution, interim constitution or transitional constitution is a constitution intended to serve during a transitional period until a permanent constitution is adopted. The following countries currently have,had in the past,such a c ...

. The position was retained by the final Constitution which came into force in February 1997. In November 2001 the Sixth Amendment of the

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Govern ...

restructured the judiciary, and the post was renamed to "Deputy Chief Justice". The first Deputy President of the Constitutional Court was

Ismail Mahomed Ismail Mahomed SCOB SC (5 July 1931 – 17 June 2000) was a South African lawyer who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa and the Chief Justice of Namibia, and co-authored the constitution of Namibia. Early life Mahomed was born in Pr ...

. In 1997 he became Chief Justice, and was replaced by

Pius Langa Pius Nkonzo Langa Order of the Baobab, SCOB (25 March 1939 – 24 July 2013) was Chief Justice of South Africa, serving on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court. He was appointed to the bench in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, h ...

, who continued as Deputy Chief Justice after 2001. Justice Langa was elevated to Chief Justice in 2005, and succeeded by

Dikgang Moseneke Dikgang Ernest Moseneke (born 20 December 1947) is a South African judge and former Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa. Biography Moseneke was born in Pretoria and went to school there. He joined the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) at the ag ...

. Moseneke retired on 20 May 2016.

List of deputy chief justices

(1995 – 1997; as Deputy President of the Constitutional Court) *

(2001 – 2005) *

(2005 – 2016) * Bess Nkabinde (2016 – 2017) *

Raymond Zondo Raymond Mnyamezeli Mlungisi "Ray" Zondo (born 4 May 1960) is a South African judge who is currently serving as Chief Justice of South Africa since 2022. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Zondo as South Africa's new chief justice with effect f ...

(June 2017 - April 2022) * Mandisa Maya (1 September 2022-)

References

External links

Constitutional Court of South Africa
{{Constitutional Court of South Africa Judiciary of South Africa Constitutional Court of South Africa