Judge Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe SC (born 22 October 1947) is a South African Judge serving as Tax Ombudsman of South Africa since 2013. He was the Chancellor of the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

from 2011 to 2016.

Early life and education

Ngoepe was born in

Pietersburg Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

and matriculated at Hebron Institute in Pretoria North in 1967. After school he obtained a BIuris from the

University of the North The University of Limpopo () is a public university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutio ...

in 1972 and an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree from

Unisa The University of South Australia is a Public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along ...

Career

Ngoepe was admitted as an attorney and practised as such for seven years before being admitted as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

in 1983. In 1984 he joined the Pretoria

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

and in November 1994, he

took silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

. He received his first acting position as Judge of the

Transvaal Provincial Division The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, ...

for the period February 1995 to June 1995. He was permanently appointed to the Bench in the Transvaal Provincial Division in July 1995. Ngoepe served as an Acting judge of the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is the supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was first establ ...

from 15 August 1995 to the end of September 1995. He was also the Chancellor of the University of South Africa (Unisa) until December 2016 In 2013, Ngoepe was appointed as the first Tax Ombudsman of South Africa. In September 2016, the South African Treasury extended Judge Ngoepe's term of office as the Tax Ombudsman for a further three years.

Other Positions Held

* Tax Ombud of South Africa (first term 2013 to 2016) (extended for a second three year term in 2016) *Judge of the African Union's African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights from 2006 to 2014 *Chancellor,

*Chairperson, Magistrates’ Commission *Member,

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Environment Programme Global Alliance of Judges on Environmental Law and participant in the United Nations Environment Programme Global Judges Programme Initiatives *Member, Court of Military Appeals *Chairperson, Military Legal Services Division Review Council *Military Appeals. Judge President, Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa *Acting Judge, Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein *Member,

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state ac ...

Amnesty Committee *Acting Judge,

(1995) *Judge, Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa *Member, Technical Committee on Constitutional Issues (the Committee drafted the Constitution) *Senior Counsel,

High Court of South Africa The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provinces of South Africa, provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction ov ...

*Advocate,

*Founding Member, Black Lawyers Association *Private Practice (1976–1983)

Publications and writings

Final report: Commission of Inquiry into the Ellis Park Stadium Soccer Disaster of 11 April 2001
(2002)

Awards

South African Human Rights Award

References

South African judges Judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Living people 1947 births South African Senior Counsel South African judges of international courts and tribunals {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub