Jody Kollapen

Narandran "Jody" Kollapen (born 19 May 1957) is a Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed by President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa on 24 December 2021, and began his service on 1 January 2022.[2] He had previously served as an acting justice of the Constitutional Court for a six-month period during 2017.[1]

The Honourable
Jody Kollapen
Justice of the Constitutional Court
Assumed office
1 January 2022
Nominated byJudicial Service Commission
Appointed byPresident Cyril Ramaphosa
Justice of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division
In office
January 2011 – December 2021
Personal details
Born (1957-05-19) 19 May 1957
Lady Selbourne, Pretoria, South Africa
SpouseRani (m. c. 1980)[1]
Children3
Residence(s)Claudius, Pretoria, South Africa
Alma materUniversity of the Witwatersrand, BProc, LLB

Prior to his appointment to the Constitutional Court, Kollapen served as a justice of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division (Gauteng High Court) during January 2011 to December 2021 and as an acting justice of the Gauteng Division during January 2010 to December 2011. Other highlights of his career include appointment to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in 1997, of which he held the position of chairman for seven years (2002–2009), and as national director of Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) during 1995 through the end of 1996.[3]

Early life and education

Kollapen was born on 19 May 1957 to working class Tamil South African parents at the Holy Cross Health Care Centre in the Lady Selborne suburb of Pretoria, South Africa.[4] His father, Kanabathy 'Billy' Kollapen, was a waiter and his mother, Rajanbal 'Thanga' Kollapen, was a machinist at a clothing factory. Kollapen has described his mother as "quite politically involved" and "a fighter for justice" who was active in anti-Apartheid passive resistance campaigns with other women from Transvaal and was twice jailed in Pietermaritzburg for participation in passive protests in the 1950s.[1] She participated in the Women's March on 9 August 1956 and Kollapen has often recalled that she told him she was pregnant with him at the time of the march.[3]

The family lived in the Marabastad business area near the city centre of Pretoria until 1968, when Kollapen was 12 years old, at which time the Group Areas Act drove them to relocate to Laudium, an 'Indian township' created under Apartheid in 1960–61.[4] Kollapen has characterized the area where he grew up as "what could be described as the District 6 of Pretoria, with a mixed-race community, and in many ways a glorified slum."[1]

An uncle worked as a "kind of paralegal" – though he had not studied the law and lacked the qualifications to claim the profession, he worked extensively with lawyers and gained "some legal knowledge" – and he assisted people in the community by providing advice and connecting them with lawyers.[5][1] Kollapen decided to pursue law as a teen, inspired by both his uncle and his mother.[6]

After matriculating at Laudium High School in 1974, he left home to pursue a law degree at the University of Durban-Westville (successor to the Indian University College) in Westville, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). As a 'non-white' student, the Extension of University Education Act prevented him from registering at a university that was open prior to the 1959 passing of the act and his options were limited to Westville.[7] The act was relaxed in 1977–78 and Kollapen was permitted to study at the University of the Witwatersrand (more commonly called Wits University or Wits) in Johannesburg, where he was a member of the Black Students Society and obtained his Baccalaureus Procurationis (BProc) and Legum Doctor (LLD) in 1981.[5]

Career

After moving back to Laudium, Kollapen began his legal career as an articled clerk at the law firm Savage, Jooste and Adams in Pretoria.[8] He opened his own practice in 1982 with R200 capital and himself as the only employee. On the daily bus ride from Laudium to the city business district, he assumed a role in the community similar to that of his uncle: I was given two seats, of which the second seat would be occupied by other commuters at 10 minute intervals. I gave them advice. It was just working-class people who needed some assistance. I never earned any money out of it but for me, it was lovely in the sense that I was able to use my knowledge and skills to help people.[1]

During his time as a human rights lawyer, he was involved in a number of high-profile cases such as the trial of the Sharpeville Six, the Delmas Treason Trial, and the South African Medical and Dental Council's case against the government-employed medical practitioners who failed to appropriately diagnose and treat anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko, who died in police custody in 1977.[9][6] He also acted as a correspondent in Pretoria for Priscilla Jana, who was based in Johannesburg for much of the 1980s.[8]

He began working with Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), a South African non-governmental organization, in the early-1990s and served as its national director from January 1995 through 1996.[7] At LHR, he coordinated the organization's 'Release Political Prisoners' program, which championed the rights of political prisoners.[10] Wayne Ncube, the national director of LHR as of 2022, described Kollapen as "one of [the LHR's] most renowned former directors" and as someone who has "always been on the right side of history, even at times when it was not convenient to do so and sometimes dangerous to do so."[4]

Other activities

In 2011, Kollapen was an extraordinary lecturer at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.[11]

References
  1. Khan, Nadia (4 February 2022). "ConCourt Judge Jody Kollapen shares his journey to the top and says his grandkids are his best friends". IOL. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  2. "Judges Jody Kollapen and Steven Mathopo appointed to Constitutional Court". Daily Maverick. 24 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  3. "Indian-origin judge Narandran 'Jody' Kollapen appointed to South Africa's highest judicial bench". The New Indian Express. 25 December 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  4. Venter, Zelda (7 January 2022). "Jody Kollapen excited, honoured to be sworn in as judge at Constitutional Court". IOL. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  5. "Judicial Service Commission interviews – Judge Jody Kollapen". Judges Matter. April 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  6. Olivier, Ingrid, ed. (January 2022). "Meet newly sworn-in Constitutional Court Judge Narandran 'Jody' Kollapen". Security Focus Africa. Kloof, South Africa: Contact Publications. 40 (1): 26–27 – via Issuu.
  7. Silbanda, Mapula (15 December 1994). "Kollapen can work on his dream". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  8. "Judicial Service Commission interviews – Constitutional Court Deputy Chief Justice Interview of Judge N J Kollapen" (PDF). Judges Matter. 4 April 2017. pp. 3, 8. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  9. "About Us – Emeritus Board of Advisors". ConsentCare. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. "Justice Jody Kollapen, Trustee". Legal Resources Centre. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  11. "Extraordinary Lecturers". Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2022.

Further reading
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