Johan Froneman | |
|---|---|
| Justice of theConstitutional Court | |
| In office 11 October 2009 – 31 May 2020 | |
| Appointed by | Jacob Zuma |
| Deputy Judge President of theLabour Court | |
| In office 1996–1999 | |
| Appointed by | Nelson Mandela |
| Judge of theHigh Court | |
| In office 1994 – 10 October 2009 | |
| Appointed by | F.W. de Klerk |
| Division | Eastern Cape |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Johan Coenraad Froneman (1953-02-10)10 February 1953 (age 72) East London,Cape Province Union of South Africa |
| Spouse | Sonette Froneman |
| Education | Grey College, Bloemfontein |
| Alma mater | Stellenbosch University University of South Africa |
Johan Coenraad Froneman (born 10 February 1953) is a South African retired judge who was a justice of theConstitutional Court of South Africa from October 2009 to May 2020. He joined the judiciary as a judge of theEastern Cape Division in 1994 and was elevated to the apex court by PresidentJacob Zuma. He was also the inaugural Deputy Judge President of theLabour Court of South Africa between 1996 and 1999.
A nativeAfrikaans speaker, Froneman grew up inCathcart in ruralEastern Cape. Before his appointment to the bench, he was an advocate inGrahamstown, Eastern Cape, where he entered practice in 1980 andtook silk in 1990. He retired from the judiciary in May 2020.
Froneman was born on 10 February 1953 inEast London in the formerCape Province.[1] Raised in aChristian,Afrikaans-speaking family,[2] he grew up on his family farm inCathcart, where he attended primary school, and he matriculated in 1970 atGrey College inBloemfontein.[3]
After matriculating, he did his mandatory military service with theCape Field Artillery.[citation needed] Thereafter he attendedStellenbosch University, where he completed a BA in 1974 and where he was influenced byJohan Degenaar, a political philosopher on the faculty.[2][3] He went on to complete an LLB at theUniversity of South Africa in 1977.[3]
Froneman served hispupillage at the bar inPretoria but, upon his admission as an advocate, he moved toGrahamstown, Eastern Cape to commence legal practice there.[3] He practised in Grahamstown between 1980 and 1994,taking silk in 1990.[1]
In 1994, Froneman was appointed as a judge of theEastern Cape Provincial Division, then a division of theSupreme Court of South Africa and later a division of theHigh Court of South Africa.[1][3] A 1994 judgement by Froneman,Qozeleni v Minister of Law and Order, was one of South Africa's earliest experiments inconstitutional interpretation, and it was cited bySydney Kentridge inS v Zuma, the first judgement handed down by the post-apartheidConstitutional Court of South Africa.
In May 1996, Froneman was appointed as deputy judge president of the newly establishedLabour Courts, in which capacity he deputisedJohn Myburgh.[1] He held that position until 1999.[3] In addition, he was an acting judge in theSupreme Court of Appeal for two terms in 2002.[3]
In September 2009, theJudicial Service Commission met inKliptown to interview Froneman and several other nominees to four vacancies in the Constitutional Court. The interviews proceeded smoothly for Froneman, who was directly complimented on his progressive philosophy by commissionersJeff Radebe andDumisa Ntsebeza,[4] and he was among the seven candidates whom the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted for the vacancies.[5] On 11 October 2009, PresidentJacob Zuma announced that he had appointed Froneman and three others –Sisi Khampepe,Chris Jafta, andMogoeng Mogoeng – to the Constitutional Court bench, with effect from the following day.[6]
In the Constitutional Court, Froneman became renowned for writing minority judgements;[2] he also occasionally wrote in Afrikaans.[7] His notable majority judgements includeGundwana v Steko Development, a unanimous judgement inproperty law.
During periods of judicial leave in 1999 and 2008 respectively, Froneman held visiting appointments atHarvard University andOxford University's Centre for Socio-Legal Studies.[3] Between 2003 and 2008, he was an extraordinary professor inpublic law at Stellenbosch University, in which capacity he gave an annual graduate seminar in human rights law.[3]
He retired from the judiciary on 31 May 2020.[2][8]
He is married to Sonette, an attorney whom he met at the University of South Africa.[2] They have two daughters and live in Grahamstown.[3]
