Ismail Mahomed

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Ismail Mahomed , SCOB (born July 5, 1931 in Pretoria ; † June 17, 2000 in Johannesburg ) was a South African lawyer and judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa from 1994 to 1998 , and as Chief Justice of South Africa from 1998 to 2000 .

Education and professional career

Born to shopkeepers of Indian descent, Mahomed attended Pretoria Indian Boys' High School . After graduating there in 1950, he began studying at the Witwatersrand University . There he was awarded the Bachelor of Arts twice, once in 1953 and again in 1954 with a focus on political science . He also obtained a Bachelor of Laws there in 1957 .

After completing his studies, he initially wanted to settle down as a lawyer in his hometown of Pretoria. The local bar association , however, denied him admission because of his skin color, so he started practicing as a lawyer in Johannesburg , as admission there was not restricted to whites. There, too, he was subjected to severe reprisals during the apartheid period because of his ethnic origin. For example, he was not allowed to rent his own office space to run his law firm, but had to use the offices of colleagues or work on his cases in the library. As a result of this experience, Mahomed took part in numerous political trials and defended opponents of apartheid. In addition to his admission to the bar in South Africa, Mahomed was admitted to the bar in Lesotho , Botswana , Swaziland and Zimbabwe . In 1984 he was also a barrister admitted in England. In 1974 he became the first non-white attorney in South African history to be appointed Crown Attorney . In 1979 he was appointed to a position as a judge at the Swaziland Supreme Court of Appeals. Three years later he also took on a judge's position in Lesotho. With Namibia's independence, Mahomed was asked by the new government to take part in drafting the constitution. He was later appointed to the post of presiding judge of the Supreme Court of Namibia. He was also appointed judge on the Court of Appeal , Lesotho's highest court of appeal. With the end of apartheid, Mahomed was the first non-white judge on the Supreme Court of South Africa . In 1994 Nelson Mandela appointed him judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa. From 1998 he was before the court as Chief Justice. He held this position until his death in 2000.

Others

Mahomed was married to Hawo Mahomed. He died of complications from a pancreatic tumor in a Johannesburg hospital. He was buried in his hometown of Pretoria. In addition to the President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki , the President of Namibia Sam Nujoma also took part in the funeral service on June 19, 2000 . In 2003, in memory of Mahomed, a sculpture of him was unveiled in front of the Windhoek Supreme Court building .

Awards (selection)

Publications (selection)

  • The judiciary and constitutionalism in a democratic society . In: CIJL Yearbook . Vol. 7 (1998), ISSN  0252-0354 , pp. 15-29.
  • Constitutional Court of South Africa . In: Cheryl Saunders (Ed.): Courts of Final Jurisdiction: the Mason Court in Australia . Federal Press, Annandale, NSW 1998, ISBN 1-86287-206-6 , pp. 167-173.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Henri E. Cauvin: Ismail Mahomed, 68; Led Post-Apartheid Court . In: The New York Times . June 19, 2000, ISSN  0362-4331 ( online [accessed July 1, 2013]).
  2. ↑ Timoteus Mashuna: Ismail Mahomed: 'The Leading Jurist' ( 1931-2000 ) . In: New Era . October 5, 2012 ( online [accessed July 1, 2013]).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mahomed, Ismail
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African lawyer, judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa
DATE OF BIRTH July 5, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Pretoria
DATE OF DEATH June 17, 2000
Place of death Johannesburg