Johannes Jacobus "Hannes" Fagan SC (5 August 1927 – 28 October 2014) was a judge of the High Court of South Africa and Deputy Judge President of the

Western Cape High Court The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over th ...

Early life and education

Fagan was born in Rondebosch, the youngest son of

Henry Allan Fagan Henry Allan Fagan, KC (4 April 1889 – 6 December 1963) was the Chief Justice of South Africa from 1957 to 1959 and previously a Member of Parliament and the Minister of Native Affairs in J. B. M. Hertzog's government. Fagan had been an early ...

and Jessie "Queeny" Theron. He attended Jan van Riebeeck High School in Cape Town and matriculated in 1944. He then enrolled at the University of Cape Town, obtaining a BA degree in 1947 and a

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

degree in 1949. From Cape Town he went to the United Kingdom and furthered his studies at Oxford University, obtaining a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1952.

Career

Fagan began practicing as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

in October 1952 as a member of the Cape

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and in 1971 he was granted an appointment as Senior Counsel. In 1974, he was appointed as an acting judge in the

Cape Provincial Division The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over th ...

and three years later he became a permanent judge. In 1992, he was appointed as deputy judge president of the Cape Province Division and served in this position until 1997, when he retired. Fagan was appointed the Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services in April 2000. His responsibilities included inspecting and arranging for the inspection of prisons in order to report on the treatment of prisoners, their conditions and any corrupt or dishonest practices in prisons.

Personal life

Fagan married Sheila Ina Wille and four sons were born from the marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fagan, Hannes 1927 births 2014 deaths South African judges South African Senior Counsel Alumni of Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck University of Cape Town alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford