Owen Lloyd Rogers (born 22 October 1958) is a South African judge of 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 ...

. Before his appointment to that court in August 2022, he served in the

Western Cape 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 the ...

of the High Court for nine years, having joined the bench in February 2013. Formerly 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, ...

and senior counsel at the Cape Bar, he was also a judge of the

Competition Appeal Court The Competition Appeal Court is a specialist Courts of South Africa, South African court that hears appeals from the Competition Tribunal (South Africa), Competition Tribunal. The court was established by the Competition Act 89 of 1998, Competitio ...

between 2016 and 2022.

Early life and education

Rogers was born on 22 October 1958 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He matriculated at Wynberg Boys' High School in 1976, and then attended the University of

, where he completed a BA in 1982, an Honours degree in

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

in 1983, and an LLB in 1985.

Legal practice

Between 1986 and 1987, he was an articled clerk at Sonnenberg Hoffmann & Galombik in Cape Town, and in 1988 he completed his pupillage at the Cape Bar. He was admitted as an

in 1988 and practiced at the Cape Bar for the next 25 years, earning silk status in 1999. He had a generalist practice but was admired for his experience in

competition law Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

and

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

, and he was chairperson of the Cape Bar Council from 2004 to 2005. Between 2001 and 2011, Rogers served as an acting judge in 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 ...

on several occasions; he also acted in the Labour Court for a term in 2002. In April 2011, he was one of seven candidates whom the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted and interviewed as candidates for possible appointment to two vacancies on the Western Cape bench. However, after the interviews, the Judicial Service Commission recommended the appointment of only one candidate, Robert Henney, and left the other vacancy unfilled. The Cape Bar Council objected strenuously, maintaining that Rogers was "an exceptional candidate".

Western Cape High Court: 2013–2022

In August 2012, Rogers was one of eight candidates shortlisted for five new vacancies in the Western Cape High Court. On that occasion, the Judicial Service Commission recommended his appointment, and President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

appointed him to the bench with effect from 15 February 2013. Over the next nine years, prominent judgements by Rogers included a 2016 judgement, acceding to an application by the Democratic Alliance, which overturned the SABC disciplinary hearing that had cleared

Hlaudi Motsoeneng Hlaudi Motsoeneng is the leader of African Content Movement (ACM) who served as the acting (law), acting Chief operating officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) from 2011 to 2013. Motsoeneng was removed from his position as C ...

of misconduct; and a 2020 judgement on the sale of South Africa's strategic oil reserves to various international oil companies. His remedial order in the latter matter was upheld on appeal by the Supreme Court of Appeal. Rogers acted as a judge in the

between 2015 and 2016, and he was permanently appointed to that court in 2017 after an interview with the Judicial Service Commission in October 2016. He also acted in the Supreme Court of Appeal for several terms between 2017 and 2021, and he acted in the Constitutional Court in 2021. His time in the Constitutional Court coincided with preparations for the 2021 local government elections, and Rogers wrote the majority judgement in ''Electoral Commission v Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs'', a case in which the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

unsuccessfully applied for special dispensation to postpone the constitutionally mandated elections because of the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He also wrote the Constitutional Court's unanimous judgement in ''Shiva Uranium v Tayob'', as well as in ''Barnard Labuschagne v South African Revenue Service'', ''Municipal Employees Pension Fund v Mongwaketse'', ''NVM v Tembisa Hospital'', and ''Minister of Police v Fidelity Security Services'' (co-written with Steven Majiedt). During the same period, Rogers was shortlisted twice, but not recommended, for permanent promotion to the Supreme Court of Appeal. In April 2019, his interview was diverted by Supreme Court President Mandisa Maya, who reported that appeals judges had complained about Rogers's temperament. In April 2021, much of his interview revolved around discussion of his involvement in internecine conflict on the Western Cape bench. At the time, Rogers had twice been reported to the Judicial Service Commission’s Judicial Conduct Committee by Barnabas Xulu, the personal lawyer of Western Cape Judge President

John Hlophe Yahya John Mandlakayise Hlophe (born 1 January 1959 in Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal) is Judge President of the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa. Background and career Born in Stanger, Natal, he was educated at the Universi ...

. One of the complaints, lodged against Rogers and nine other Western Cape judges, took issue with the judges' avowed refusal to share a panel with fellow judge Mustak Parker, which the judges said was a form of protest against Parker's conduct in a series of scandals involving Hlophe and his deputy,

Patricia Goliath Honorable Deputy Judge President Patricia Lynette Goliath (born 15 October 1964) is a judge of the High Court of South Africa and the Deputy Judge President of the Western Cape High Court. Deputy Judge President Goliath acted as a Constitutiona ...

. Rogers was ultimately cleared of both complaints.

Constitutional Court: 2022–present

In April 2022, Rogers and four others were shortlisted for appointment to two vacancies at the Constitutional Court. In Rogers's interview, Chief Justice

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 ...

disclosed that he had invited Rogers to avail himself for permanent appointment after he made "very important contributions" while serving as an acting justice. Asked about affirmative action, Rogers told the panel that, given the small size of the Constitutional Court, the primary criterion in the selection of judges should be "judicial excellence", not demographic representivity. He was also asked, by commissioner Jomo Nyambi, about his well-publicised disdain for the practice of conferring silk status on advocates; he said that he retained his view that the practice led to fee inflation and thereby restricted access to justice, but that he had "given it up as a lost cause". The Judicial Service Commission nominated Rogers and three other candidates for appointment, and President Cyril Ramaphosa elected to appoint Rogers to one of the vacancies. The appointment was announced on 8 June and took effect on 1 August.

Publications

In addition to several articles in academic publications, Rogers wrote a non-fiction book about the lives of the lawyers involved in the Jameson Raid of 1896; it is titled ''Lawyers in Turmoil: The Johannesburg Conspiracy of 1895'' and was published in 2020.

Personal life

He is married to Susan Rogers; they do not have children.