Personal details

•    Born: 18 September 1959 (Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga)
•    Wife: Cynthia Ramasela (née Tjale)
•    Children: Four (Nhlanhla, Thulani, Thato, Khutso)

Education

•     Matric: Thembeka High School, 1979
•     B Proc: University of Limpopo, 1983
•     LLB: University of South Africa, 2019    

Professional history

•     Legal Assistant: Ka-Ngwane Homeland’s Department of Justice, 1984
•     Fellow: Legal Resource Centre, 1987
•     Articled Clerk: Bowman Gilfillan, 1988
•     Professional Assistant: Bowman, Gilfillan, Hayman, Godfrey Inc., 1990
•     Associate Partner: Bowman, Gilfillan, Hayman, Godfrey Inc., 1993
•     Director/Partner: Mlambo & Modise Attorneys, 1993-1997
•     Acting Judge: Labour Court, June 1997
•     Judge: Labour Court, November 1997
•     Acting Judge: Gauteng Division of the High Court (Johannesburg), 1999
•     Judge: Gauteng Division of the High Court), 15 January 2000
•     Acting Judge: Supreme Court of Appeal (Bloemfontein), 2003
•     Judge: Supreme Court of Appeal (Bloemfontein), 1 April 2005
•     Judge President: Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court, 1 June 2010
•     Judge President: Gauteng Division of the High Court, 1 November 2012
•     Acting Justice: Constitutional Court, January 2022 - 30 July 2022
•     Deputy Chief Justice: Constitutional Court, 01 August 2025    

Other activities

•     Mediator: Independent Mediation Services of South Africa (IMSSA), 1991 - 1997     
•     Trustee: Field Band Foundation, 2001 - 2005
•     Chairperson: Legal Aid South Africa, 2002 - 2019 
•     Judge Moderator: The National Bar Examinations Board of South Africa, 2003 - 2009 
•     Trustee: Africa Legal Aid, 2008 - 2011
•     Chairperson: Expert Group Meetings of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), meeting that approved the Draft United Nations (UN) Principles and Guidelines on Access to Justice in Criminal Justice Systems 2011, which was subsequently adopted by the UN a year later, 2011
•     Chairperson: Judiciary and Administration IT Steering Committee, since 2012 
•     Member: International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges, since 2012
•     Chairperson: Court of Military Appeals, 2012 - 2025
•     Trustee/Board of Directors: International Legal Foundation, since 2013 
•     Chairperson: Gauteng Provincial Efficiency Enhancement Committee, 2013 - 2025
•     Chairperson: UNODC Expert Group Meeting that finalised the revision of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, now called the Nelson Mandela Rules, 2015 
•     Member: International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges, since 2016
•     Chairperson: Community Advice South Africa, since 2019
•     Chairperson: Law Reform Commission Sub Committee, 2019 - 2022 
•     Editor in Chief: Judiciary Magazine, 2019 - 2023
•     Offices Global Executive Council Member: International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges, since 2020
•     President (Africa Chapter): International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges, since 2020
•     Member: BLMNS Selection Committee (Rhodes Scholarship), 2023 - 2024
•     Member: Judicial Accountability Committee
•     Chairperson: Gauteng Infrastructure Committee
•     Chairperson: National Court Infrastructure Committee

Honors and Awards:

•    LLD (Honoris Causa), University of Fort Hare

Personal details

22 October 1958, Cape Town
Wife: Susan Rogers
No children

Education

• Matric: Wynberg Boys High School, Cape Town
• Cum Laude (1982) University of Cape Town
• BA Hons, Classics (First Class) (1983) University of Cape Town
• LLB Magna Cum Laude (1985) University of Cape Town

Professional history

• Articled clerk; Sonnenberg Hoffmann & Galombik, Cape Town: 1986-1987 
• Pupillage at the Cape Bar: Jan-July 1988
• Advocate at the Cape Bar:1988-2012
• Awarded status of senior counsel: 1999
• Treasurer, honorary secretary and member of the Cape Bar Council: 1994-1998; 2000-2003
• Chairperson of the Cape Bar Council: 2004-2005
• Chairperson of tribunals established in terms of s 15K of the Pension Funds Act
• Acting Judge; Western Cape High Court: various periods in 2001, 2003, 2009 and 2011
• Acting Judge; Labour Court: fourth term 2002
• Judge; Western Cape High Court: 2013 - 2022
• Acting Judge of Appeal; Competition Appeal Court: 2015-2016 
• Judge of Appeal; Competition Appeal Court: 2017 - 2022
• Acting Judge of Appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal for eight terms over the period August 2017-June 2021

Other Activities

• Honorary Judicial Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
• Advisory member of the South African Judicial Journal
• Advocacy Trainer for the General Council of the BAr 2015 to date

Publications on Legal Topics

• The Action of the Disappointed Beneficiary (1986) 103 SALJ 683.
• When All Else has Failed: Illegal Strikes, Ultimatums and Mass Dismissals 1991 (12) ILJ 1171 (co-authored with Jeremy Gauntlett)
• Silk: Why it should go Advocate (December 2006) 26
• High Fees and Dubious Practices Advocate (April 2012) 40
• The Ethics of the Hopeless Case Advocate (December 2017) 46.
• To Give and to Gain: Judicial involvement in advocacy training SAJEJ Vol 1(1) 2018.
• Argument and Opinion, Advocate and Expert Advocate (April 2019) 56
• I Beg to Differ’: Are our courts too agreeable? (2022) 139 SALJ 300
• Lawyers in Turmoil: The Johannesburg Conspiracy of 1895 (Stormberg, 2020)

Judges information courtsey of Supreme Court of Appeal(www.supremecourtofappeal.org.za)

Justice Tshiqi gained experience as an attorney having practiced for 14 years prior to becoming a judge in 2005. She is an activist for constitutional transformation which is evident from the work she does with the Regional Judges Forum, where they deal with issues such as human rights, gender, TB prevention, and HIV awareness.

Early Years and Career

Zukisa Laura Lumka Tshiqi (born Qingana), was born in Cefane, a small area in the Eastern Cape in 1961. Justice Tshiqi views her father as a contributor to her resolve to work hard, his drive influenced her life and subsequent determination.

She studied at the University of Witwatersrand where she obtained her B Proc degree in 1989 and an Advanced Diploma in Labour Law from Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) in 2001.  She was appointed as Legal Co-Ordinator of the South African Council of Churches from 1986 to 1989. In 1991, she completed her Articles of Clerkship at Neluheni Attorneys. She was subsequently admitted as an attorney of the High Court in 1991. Justice Tshiqi was then appointed as a Professional Assistant in 1991 at Matlala Attorneys where she worked with various matters and various areas of law. In 1992, she was appointed as the Litigation Officer and Trial Advocacy Trainer of the Black Lawyers Associations until 1994 when she opened her own practice and was practicing as such from 1994 to 2005. During 1995 to 2005, she was also appointed as Senior Commissioner of the CCMA and the bargaining councils. Justice Tshiqi is a qualified trainer, facilitator and mediator and she is a trainer at an ad hoc basis for the South African Judicial Institute.

In 2003 to 2004, she was appointed as an Acting Judge of the High Court and the Labour Court. In 2005, she was appointed as a Judge of the High Court. In 2007, she was appointed as Acting Judge at the Competition Appeal Court and in 2009, she was appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal where she presided over many matters for 10 years prior to her appointment at the Constitutional Court.

Appointment to the Constitutional Court

Justice Tshiqi regards her appointment to the Constitutional Court as an honour and privilege.