Johann van der Westhuizen

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Johann Vincent van der Westhuizen (born May 26, 1952 in Windhoek ) is a South African lawyer. From 2004 to 2016 he was a judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa .

Life

Van der Westhuizen received his school education in Pretoria . He graduated from the University of Pretoria with a degree in law in 1973. In 1975 he was awarded the Bachelor of Laws there . He was admitted to the bar the following year. He later moved to his alma mater as a research assistant, where he received his doctorate in law in 1980 . At the same time he taught legal history there . At the same time, he headed the department for legal history, comparative law and legal philosophy until 1994 . In 1986 he was the founding director of the Center for Human Rights .

Van der Westhuizen was significantly involved in the drafting of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa , which was adopted on May 9, 1996 . A few years earlier, he was already a member of the responsible for drafting the interim constitution (1993) Transitional Executive Council , whose task was the Constituent Assembly of South Africa ( Constitutional Assembly ), the former National Assembly and the Senate to advise.

In 1994 he was appointed a member of a commission responsible for the abolition of discriminatory legal provisions from the apartheid period . Two years later, he led a Justice Department and South African Human Rights Commission project to develop equality legislation. In 1999 Nelson Mandela appointed him a judge in the Transvaal Provincial Division . In February 2004 van der Westhuizen was finally appointed judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa. He held this post until 2016.

Publications (selection)

  • Introductory notes on South African human rights law . Center for Human Rights, Pretoria 1993, OCLC 32478286 , LCCN  95-151058
  • On equality, justice, the future of South African law schools and other dreams . Center for Human Rights, Pretoria 1993, OCLC 65096997

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Van der Westhuizen, Johann Vincent . In: Paul Stober, Barbara Ludman (Eds.): The Mail & Guardian AZ of South African Politics . Foreword by Ferjal Haffaijee. Jacana Media Ltd., Johannesburg 2004, ISBN 1-77009-023-1 , pp. 142 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed June 29, 2013]).
personal data
SURNAME Westhuizen, Johann van der
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Westhuizen, Johann Vincent van der (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African lawyer, judge at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa (2004-2016)
DATE OF BIRTH May 26, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Windhoek