Abbreviated Biography – Acting Justice Opperman J
Judge Ingrid Opperman qualified in 1988 with a B.Com LLB from the University of Johannesburg. From 1985 to 1986 she was the chairwoman of the UJ Law Society.
She spent a year after she qualified as a public prosecutor and then in 1990, commenced pupillage at the Johannesburg Society of Advocates.
The early days of her practice were dedicated mainly to criminal defence work for members of communities in the Northern Cape engaged in resistance to the apartheid state. She worked on defending those accused of public violence, intimidation and related charges. They arose from the efforts of those communities to resist the structures of the apartheid state in its dying days. She also did work in Western Gauteng, primarily in Carletonville, representing in inquests, families who had lost children in police custody. During this time she was a member of Lawyers for Human Rights.
During 1994 her practice shifted to mainly general commercial law with a fair amount of asset-finance based litigation for banks.
She married Les Morison, now an SC, and they have two daughters. Senior counsel status was conferred upon her on 16 September 2014 whereafter, as is the tradition at the bar, she started taking acting appointments. She came to appreciate the challenges and rewards of judicial office in that time and decided to avail herself for appointment as a permanent judge of the High Court of South Africa and was appointed as such during January 2017. She sees judicial office as an opportunity to serve her country and in particular, to apply the law to address injustices both past and present.
Personal details
12 April 1962, Port Elizabeth
Married to Therese Boulle
Three children
Education
- Matriculated at St Patrick’s Marist Brothers College, Port Elizabeth
- BA – University of Cape Town
- LLB – University of Cape Town
Professional history
- Articles of Clerkship, Brereton & Co, 1989
- Advocate, Eastern Cape Bar, Port Elizabeth, 1990 - 1996
- National Director Investigations Unit, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 1996 - 1997
- Advocate, Eastern Cape Bar, Port Elizabeth, 1998 - 2011
- Served as an Acting Judge in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court for periods during 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Acting Judge, Supreme Court of Appeal: 1 June 2020 - 30 November 2020; 1 December 2020 - 31 May 2021; 1 June - 30 September 2022.
- Judge; Supreme Court of Appeal: 1 December 2022.
Publications, Awards, Honours and Other Activities
- ‘Human Rights Litigation’ in Introduction to Human Rights Law (2ed), A Govindjee (ed), 2016 LexisNexis
- ‘Rights Activism as a Key to Transformative Jurisprudence’ in South Africa’s Constitution at 21, J Meiring (ed), 2017 Penguin Random House
- ‘Ethics as a Driver of Transformation of the Legal Profession’, SAJEJ, Vol 2, Issue 1, (2019)
- ‘Covid 19 and the Courts: Justice in Lockdown’ (2020) 33.2 Advocate 34 (August 2020).
- Instructor in Constitutional Litigation: LSSA Practical Legal School 1998 – 2005
- Pupilage Coordinator (Eastern Cape) 2004 – 2006
- Independent Trial Observer obo International Bar Association, Zimbabwe, 2006
- Chairperson, Port Elizabeth Society of Advocates 2006 – 2008
- Chairperson, Eastern Cape Society of Advocates 2007
- Pupilage Coordinator for General Council of the Bar 2009 - 2011
- Faculty Advisory Board for the Review of the LLB Curriculum, Nelson Mandela University 2009 – 2011
- External Examiner in Constitutional and Administrative Law, Rhodes University, 1998 to present
- Adjunct Professor in Public Law, Nelson Mandela University 2008 – to present
- Member of the Faculty of Advocacy Trainers, General Council of the Bar
- Mediation Training for South African Judges, Utah United States of America, October 2019 hosted by University of Utah and Brigham Young University
- Webinar on Judicial Responses to Covid 19 Pandemic, hosted by Nelson Mandela University, May 2020
- Access to Justice and Online Courts, panel hosted by Hans Seidel Foundation and UCT Democratic Governance and Rights Unit, April 2021
- Instructor on SAJEI training seminars for judicial officers on Virtual Courts, Motion Court Procedure and Mediation – 2020, 2021 and 2022
- The Future of Judicial Digital Transformation in Africa and Adoption of All Technology for Automated Judicial Decision Making, African Judges Panel During Africa Legal Innovation Week 2022, Hosted by The Lawyers Hub, Kenya, November 2022.
Activities
Personal details
BORN: 20 July 1959, Danhauser, KwaZulu-Natal
SPOUSE: Kalpana Seegobin
CHILDREN: Twin daughters
Education
- Matriculated at St Oswald High School, Newcastle (1977)
- Obtained BA (Law) from the University of Durban Westville (1980)
- LLB, University of Durban Westville (1983)
- Certificate in Constitutional Litigation, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg
- Higher Diploma in Tax, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg
Professional history
- Served pupillage, Pietermaritzburg Bar: May- November (1984)
- Admitted as an Advocate: August (1984)
- Commenced practice as an Advocate: December (1984)
- Conferred with SILK: (2007)
- Acting Judge of the High Court for various periods: (2000-2010)
- Judge of the High Court, KwaZulu-Natal: January (2011)
- Acting Judge of The Supreme Court of Appeal: December (2023) - May (2024)
Other Activities
- Member of the Society of Advocates (1984 – 2010)
- Chairperson of the Pietermaritzburg Bar (2010)
- Member of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL)
- Member of Advocates for Transformation (AFT)
Publications on Legal Topics
- The Advocate: M K Gandhi, The Lawyer
- The Advocate: Restoring The Dignity Of Our Courts, The Duties Of Legal Practitioners
Acting Justice Nambitha Dambuza
Nambitha Dambuza is a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa, which is located in Bloemfontein in the Free State Province. She has served as a judge of that court for six years. Prior to that she was a judge of the High Cout in the Eastern Cape Province for eleven years. During the same period she was a judge of the Competition Appeal Court and has previously served as Acting Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Her other positions include: Chairperson of the Rules Board for the Courts of Law in South Africa; visiting Professor at the Rhodes University Faculty of Law, in Makhanda; South Africa, Chairperson of the Nelson Mandela University Council, South Africa; Judicial Educator with the South African Judiciary; Board member of the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment; and Trustee of the Heatherbank Farm School in Gqeberha, South Africa.
Previous positions include: member of the Judicial Conduct Committee of the Judicial Service Commission, South Africa; council member of the South African Judicial Education Institute (SAJEI); convenor of the New Judges Orientation Seminar, South African Judiciary; Chairperson of the African Judicial Education Network on Environmental Law (Ajenel); and Chairperson of the Walter Sisulu University Council, South Africa.
Personal details
Date of birth:13 February 1968
Place of birth: Moletši, Polokwane, Limpopo Province
Marital Status: Widower (Deceased Wife Malesetja Makgoka)
Children: Kholo - Daughter (Chartered Accountant) and Ayanda - Son (Practising Attorney).
Education
- Matric: Hwiti High School, Limpopo Province
- B. Proc (1992) University of the North, Limpopo Province
- LLB (2021) University of South Africa
Professional history
- Acting Justice: Constitutional Court: 01 February 2023 - 31 May 2023
- Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal: 1 June 2018 to date
- Acting Justice: Supreme Court of Appeal: October 2017 - May 2018
- Acting Justice: Supreme Court of Appeal: June - November 2016
- Acting Judge: Labour Appeal Court: June - November 2015
- Acting Judge: Lesotho High Court, Constitutional Division: April 2015
- Judge: High Court Gauteng Division: August 2009 - May 2018
- Acting Judge: High Court, Transvaal Provinial Division: 2007
- Practising Attorney, Pretoria: 1994 – 2007
- Articles of Clerkship, Pretoria: 1992 - 1993
Seminars Attended
- Judicial Seminar on Intellectual Property Rights and Public Health, January 2012, Elmina, Ghana
- Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESSAAMLG) Judicial Regional Retreat, 13-15 July 2015, Swakopmund, Namibia.
- WIPO Judges Master Dialogue on Intellectual Property Adjudication - Perspective on ntellectual Property: 16 - 19 September 2019, United States of America
- WIPO Intellectual Property Judges Forum: Promoting Transnational Dialogue Among Judiciaries 13 -15 November 2019, Geneva, Swizerland.
Papers Authored
Author of the following lecture notes for aspirant and newly appointed judges:
- Managing the Unopposed Motion Court, 2014;
- National Credict Act: A Practical Approach, 2014;
- Managing the Opposed Motion Court, 2016;
- Aspects of Constitutional Litigation, 2016
- Practical Aspects on Judgment Writting, 2020
Other Activities
- Lecturer: Legal Education and Development (LEAD) Pretoria Law School, 2006 – 2018.
- Member: Disciplinary Committee: Law Society of the Northern Provinces: 2006–2007.
- Chairperson: Loreto School Parents Association, Queenswood, Pretoria: 2006–2008.
- Member: Board of Governors: Loreto School, Queenswood, Pretoria: 2009-2021.
- Member and Lecturer: Black Lawyers Association-Legal Education Centre (BLA-LEC): 2010 to date.
- Chancellor: Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Diocese of Pretoria: 2012 to date.
- Guest Lecturer: Pretoria Society of Advocates on the National Credit Act: 2012–2019.
- Lecturer: Aspirant Judges (Law Society of the Northern Provinces): 2014 - 2018.
- Lecturer: Aspirant Judges: South African Judicial Education Institute (SAJEI): 2018 to date.
- Member: Editorial Committee of the South African Institute of Judicial Education Journal: 2016 to date.
- Member: Editorial Team, Journal of the Southern Chapter of the International Association of Women 2019 to date.
- Convener: Research and Publications Committee of the BLA-LEC: 2018 to date.
- Member: Judcial Conduct Committee: 2019 - 2022.
- Member: Advisory Board of Judges, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO): 2020-2021.
Awards and Honours
- Most Inspiring Lecturer, Legal Education and Development, Pretoria Law School, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013.
- Certificate of Recognition by Law Society of the Northern Provinces for contribution to Judicial Skills Training for aspirant judges: August 2015.
- Certificate of Appreciation by Law Society of South Africa for contribution in the training of candidate attorneys and development of School for Legal Practice in South Africa: September 2015.
- Certificate of Appreciation: Black Lawyers Association (2019 and 2020).
