Johan Coenraad Froneman, SC (born 10 February 1953) is a South African former judge who served as a Justice of the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme court, 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 fi ...

Early life

Froneman grew up in

Cathcart Cathcart ( sco, Kithcart, gd, Coille Chart)
is an are ...

and was educated at

Grey College, Bloemfontein Grey College (Afrikaans: ''Grey Kollege'') is a semi-private English & Afrikaans medium school for boys situated in the suburb of Universitas in Bloemfontein in the Free State province of South Africa, it is one of the 23 Milner Schools. The ...

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) 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 ...

and the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as 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, U ...

. He obtained his law degree from the

in 1977. He did his military service with the

Cape Field Artillery A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. The ...

. He commenced practice as an advocate in 1980 and

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1990.

Judicial career

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

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, now known as the

Eastern Cape High Court, Grahamstown 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 Port El ...

. In 1996 he was appointed the first Deputy Judge President of the newly established

Labour Court A labor court (or labour court or industrial tribunal) is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts. O ...

and Labour Appeal Court, a position which he held until 1999. In 2002 he served as an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal. In October 2009, he was appointed to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

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 name Msholozi, and was a former anti-apart ...

. He retired on 31 May 2020.

Other positions

Froneman was an extraordinary professor in public law at the University of Stellenbosch from 2003 to 2008 and held visiting appointments at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and the

University of Oxford 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...

during periods of judicial leave.

References

Judges of the Constitutional Court of South Africa 20th-century South African judges Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein Stellenbosch University alumni University of South Africa alumni People from East London, Eastern Cape South African Senior Counsel Afrikaner people 1954 births Living people 21st-century South African judges {{SouthAfrica-law-bio-stub