On 9 July 2015, the Judicial Service Commission will interview candidates to fill the vacancy on the Constitutional Court left when Justice Skweyiya retired in February 2014.

The candidates are:

1. Judge Nonkosi Mhlantla, whose application can be viewed here.
2. Judge Dhayanithie Pillay, whose application can be viewed here.
3. Judge Leona Theron, whose application can be viewed here.
4. Judge Zukisa Tshiqi, whose application can be viewed here.

A brief overview of the candidates is provided below.

1. Judge Mhlantla

Judge Mhlantla attended the University of the North, Limpopo and graduated with a B.Proc degree in June 1987.

Judge Mhlantla is currently a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal, where she has served since December 2008.  She also served as Judge of the Eastern Cape High Court and on the Competition Appeal Court.

She has served as an Acting-Justice of the Constitutional Court for a year in 2013. Whilst acting on the Constitutional Court, she authored the majority judgment in:

•  MEC for Education, Gauteng Province v The Governing Body of the Rivonia Primary School
• Kubyana v Standard Bank of South Africa Limited
• The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning of the Western Cape v Lagoon Bay Lifestyle Estate (Pty) Ltd and Others and
• Liebenberg NO and Others v Bergrivier Municipality

Judge Mhlantla was nominated by NADEL.

Download Judge Mhlanta’s application here.

2. Judge Pillay

Judge Pillay obtained a B.Proc degree from UNISA in May 1982, an LLM from UND in 1993, and LLB from UNISA in October 2002.  Judge Pillay served as Judge as the Labour Court from 2000 to 2010, and has been a Judge of the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court since 2010.

Judge Pillay has written a number of academic articles and lectured extensively.

Judge Pillay was nominated by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies and former Justice of the Constitutional Court, Zac Yacoob.

Download Judge Pillay’s application here.

3. Judge Theron

Judge Theron obtained a Bachelor of Arts and LLB from the then University of Natal in 1987 and 1989, and an LLM from Georgetown University in 1990.

Judge Theron was appionted as a Judge of the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court in 1999. Judge Theron has served as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal and was appointed to a permanent position on that court in 2010. She also acted as Justice of the Constitutional Court between February and May 2015.

The Centre for Applied Legal Studies, the SA Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges and Advocates for Transformation (KwaZulu-Natal) nominated Judge Theron.

Download Judge Pillay’s application here.

4. Judge Tshiqi

Judge Tshiqi obtained a B.Proc degree from the University of the Witswatersrand in 1989 and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Labour Law from the University of Johannesburg in 2001.

The Judge currently serves on the Supreme Court of Appeal, a position she has held since 2009. Prior to that she was a Judge of the Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg of the High Court, and acted as Judge of the Labour Court, Competition Appeal Court and Constitutional Court, between November 2014 and May 2015.

Whilst acting on the Constitutional Court, Judge Tshiqi wrote the majority judgment in the following cases:

• City Power (Pty) Ltd v Grinpal Energy Management Services (Pty) Ltd
• Coughlan N.O. v Road Accident Fund

Mrs H Dlepu of Molefe Dlepu Inc, and Judge Bosielo (currently a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal) nominated Judge Tshiqi.

Download Judge Tshiqi’s application here.