Johan Coenraad Froneman (born 10 February 1953) is a South African retired judge who was a justice 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 October 2009 to May 2020. He joined the judiciary as a judge of the

Eastern Cape Division The Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The main seat of the division is at Makhanda, with subordinate local seats at Gqeberh ...

in 1994 and was elevated to the apex court by President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

. He was also the inaugural Deputy Judge President of the

Labour Court of South Africa The Labour Court is a South African court that handles labour law cases, that is, disputes arising from the relationship between employer, employee and trade union. The court was established by the Labour Relations Act, 1995, and has a status si ...

between 1996 and 1999. A native

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

speaker, Froneman grew up in

Cathcart Cathcart (; , )
is an area of

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

. Before his appointment to the bench, he was an advocate in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, where he entered practice in 1980 and

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 ...

in 1990. He retired from the judiciary in May 2020.

Early life and education

Froneman was born on 10 February 1953 in

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

in the former

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

. Raised in a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

-speaking family, he grew up on his family farm in

Cathcart Cathcart (; , )
is an area of

Grey College in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. After matriculating, he did his mandatory military service with the

Cape Field Artillery A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used thr ...

. Thereafter he attended

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

, where he completed a BA in 1974 and where he was influenced by Johan Degenaar, a political philosopher on the faculty. He went on to complete an LLB at 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 ...

in 1977.

Legal career

Froneman served his

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which ba ...

at the bar in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

but, upon his admission as an advocate, he moved to Grahamstown, Eastern Cape to commence legal practice there. He practised in Grahamstown between 1980 and 1994, taking silk in 1990.

Eastern Cape Division: 1994–2009

In 1994, Froneman was appointed as a judge of the Eastern Cape Provincial Division, then a division of the

Supreme Court of South Africa The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was th ...

and later a division of the

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 ...

. A 1994 judgement by Froneman, ''Qozeleni v Minister of Law and Order'', was one of South Africa's earliest experiments in

constitutional interpretation Judicial interpretation is the way in which the judiciary construes the law, particularly constitutional documents, legislation and frequently used vocabulary. This is an important issue in some common law jurisdictions such as the United St ...

, and it was cited by

Sydney Kentridge Sir Sydney Woolf Kentridge SCOB (born 5 November 1922) is a South African-born lawyer, judge and member of the Bar of England and Wales. He practised law in South Africa and the United Kingdom from the 1940s until his retirement in 2013. In S ...

in '' S v Zuma'', the first judgement handed down by the post-apartheid

. In May 1996, Froneman was appointed as deputy judge president of the newly established

Labour Courts Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, in which capacity he deputised John Myburgh. He held that position until 1999. In addition, he was an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal for two terms in 2002.

Constitutional Court: 2009–2020

In September 2009, the Judicial Service Commission met in

Kliptown Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which form ...

to interview Froneman and several other nominees to four vacancies in the Constitutional Court. The interviews proceeded smoothly for Froneman, who was directly complimented on his progressive philosophy by commissioners

Jeff Radebe Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe (born 18 February 1953) is a South African politician who was last appointed as Minister of Energy by Cyril Ramaphosa on 26 February 2018. He served in the government of South Africa as Minister in the Presidency from 20 ...

and

Dumisa Ntsebeza Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza (born 31 October 1949) is a South African lawyer and political activist. He was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Ntsebeza was born in Cala, Eastern Cape in the former Transkei. He is the chairman of t ...

, and he was among the seven candidates whom the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted for the vacancies. On 11 October 2009, President

announced that he had appointed Froneman and three others –

Sisi Khampepe Sisi Virginia Khampepe (born 8 January 1957) is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa between October 2009 and October 2021. Formerly a prominent labour lawyer, she joined the bench in December 2000 ...

Chris Jafta Christopher Nyaole Jafta (born 1959) is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from October 2009 to October 2021. Formerly an academic and practising advocate in the Transkei, he joined the bench in ...

, and

Mogoeng Mogoeng Mogoeng Thomas Reetsang Mogoeng (born 14 January 1961) is a South African jurist who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa from 8 September 2011 until his retirement on 11 October 2021. Early life Mogoeng was born on 14 January 1961 in G ...

– to the Constitutional Court bench, with effect from the following day. In the Constitutional Court, Froneman became renowned for writing minority judgements; he also occasionally wrote in Afrikaans. His notable majority judgements include '' Gundwana v Steko Development'', a unanimous judgement in

property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prope ...

. During periods of judicial leave in 1999 and 2008 respectively, Froneman held visiting appointments at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

's Centre for Socio-Legal Studies. Between 2003 and 2008, he was an extraordinary professor in

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

at Stellenbosch University, in which capacity he gave an annual graduate seminar in human rights law. He retired from the judiciary on 31 May 2020.

Personal life

He is married to Sonette, an attorney whom he met at the University of South Africa. They have two daughters and live in Grahamstown.

References

External links

Justice Johan Froneman
at Constitutional Court
Justice Johan Froneman
at Our Constitution
"Johan Froneman – A Reflection"
at Judges Matter (2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Froneman, Johan Judges of the Constitutional Court of South Africa Judges of the Eastern Cape High Court 1953 births 20th-century South African lawyers 20th-century South African judges 21st-century South African judges Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Stellenbosch University alumni University of South Africa alumni People from East London, South Africa South African Senior Counsel Afrikaner people Living people White South African people