President Jacob Zuma has, in terms of Section 174(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, nominated Madam Justice Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya as the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Justice Maya will fill the vacancy that has occurred following the discharge from active service of Mr Justice Lex Mpati. She was appointed as an Acting Judge of the High Court in 1999 and a fulltime Judge the following year. She has acted as a judge at the Labour Court, an Acting Judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal, and as an Acting Judge at the Constitutional Court. In 2006 she was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal and in 2015 she was appointed as the first female Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal. This will make her the first female  President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

According to the Constitution the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal is appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission.  The President has informed the Chairperson of the JSC, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng about his decision to nominate Justice Maya as President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

“We wish Justice Maya all the best as the selection process unfolds,” said President Zuma.

 

Issued by the Presidency